Armareth's Tower

Chloe’s breathing centered David. He felt the warble of essence from multiple points as he moved it into the large glowing orb. The near-silence was a cocoon wrapped around him. The room was awash in colors. It flowed from walls, the roof, and off the three of them. He silenced the panic in his mind. Fear was important for survival, but sometimes it could be a hindrance. He focused on the growing ball of essence, alternating between feeding it and stabilizing it. He pushed away the eagerness that bounced about in his head; an excitement that threatened to shake his focus. Instead, he poured everything he had into making sure the essence was gathered in its purest form.

“What do you think?” Zoey asked. Her eyes were large saucers as she peered at the ball of essence. David grinned. He saw the pride in her eyes, the awe. The strangest part was that it wasn’t as heavy as it used to be. Something had changed about how essence gathered to him. There was something else he’d discovered. To influence essence and turn it into a spell, he needed to add some of his to it. But the moment he did that it would tremble, pulsing as if fighting against his hold. He hated that part.

“I think it’s a big useless ball of essence,” David said. Then it let it go. Watching all that power vanish always hit David like a punch in the gut. He had to find a way to use it without it backfiring. Chaos could help, but the boy was gone.

Not dead. David could still feel the link between them. He felt the quake of Chaos’ mark burn bright in his mind whenever he thought of the boy. Boy? Spirit? God? He didn’t know what they were yet, but he was sure he would know soon enough.

“What?” David asked without looking up. He could feel Zoey’s gaze on him settling heavily on his back. He loved her dearly, but sometimes she acted like their mum. The silent scrutiny, as if he was hiding a great sin she shouldn’t have access to. Zoey shook her head. Her hands were folded, and she stared at him, willing him to speak of his troubles. David sighed, sat up, and stared at his sister.

“You should be careful,” David said. “There are many things about these people we still don’t know.” He couldn’t help staring at her horns. They were the same size as when they appeared, but the runes on her neck had stretched down her chest. She caught him staring and David thought to ask.

“What do you mean?” Zoey asked, quickly cutting through his thoughts. David shrugged. Just the same. Zoey frowned, worry lines sprouting on her forehead. She looked different and the same. Her arms seemed longer; her fingers slender. Her eyes were like a pool, swallowing him when he stared too long. He hadn’t noticed these changes before.

“Be ready for anything,” He said. He saw that Chloe was pretending to sleep. Her lashes moved and she closed her eyes too tightly. “I have a mind to leave Chloe back here, where she will be safe.”

“I agree,” Zoey said. “Although she has been practicing. I don’t know how she will fare in a real squabble.”

“I am not staying here,” Chloe said, all pretense forgotten. Her eyes were little pools of fire and brimstone. She had changed too, but most of her transformation was physical. It was not growth, more like maturation. He put his hands in front of him and checked for changes. His third tower ring had grown too. Zoey’s second was almost complete. Elisha was the only one still behind. That was why he was sparring with Hanna outside.

“We might die this time,” David said. Zoey frowned, shaking her head in disappointment. David ignored her. She didn’t know what she was walking into. He did. He wasn’t sure what that beast had been, but if Krak had a beast like that, then he might have more. David didn’t want to think about it, but looking down at Chloe's eager eyes was enough to push what he’d seen back to the surface.

The soft cries of the slaves had felt like stepping on glass shards with his bare feet. He sighed, resigning himself to the resolve to do whatever he could. Zoey stood up.

“Come, I want to show you something.” And then she walked away. Her steps were soft on the wood floor, but her back was straight and purposeful. She’d grown so much in the short time they’d been in the tower. David pulled Chloe up and then froze. He hadn’t even wondered how time worked here in the tower. But from what Tara and the others had said so far, time was probably slower.

They followed Zoey to the front of the building where everything looked out onto the field. Jeremy sat under a large tree, one of eight in the whole place. He had a cup of wine in his hand and when David waved at him, his lips curled up in a sinister smile.

“We will be leaving soon. What are you doing?”

“This,” Zoey said and summoned her bow. David was about to protest but she shook her head. “Just watch.”

And David did. Zoey pulled the strings of her bow back, six shimmering arrows formed from pure essence. The arrowheads seemed to pulse steadily. She pulled back some more and David felt the force of essence increase. It was a subtle wave, like a knife under a sleeve. He wondered what Zoey was trying to do. He’d seen her shoot more than six arrows before. They form so fast and fly like missiles. Sometimes she poured them out like startling drops. He remembered how overwhelming it had been when she used it against Nurend.

Then Zoey let them go and they shot into the distance like a tide, wind blowing their hair about. They flew forward for a while and then arched up, spinning like stars. David was still confused, but then Zoey pulled the bowstring again and let loose another six arrows. They chased the first, following like a shadow.

“What is tha—”

“Watch,” Zoey said and David did. If he had blinked he would have missed the contact. One arrow hit another just slightly, changing the trajectory of both and that set into motion a dance of green light in the sky. David watched in awe as the directions changed as arrows hit against each other and even as they swerved and shot side-ways, the aim stayed through.

“What is Zoey doing?” Chloe asked, shielding her eyes so she could see the flying lights too fast to catch. David tried to trace them but they were too fast, the directions too random. If those were to attack him, he wasn’t sure how he’d defend against them. And in that moment he understood why Zoey had added more essence. The arrows were fading now, but not as fast as they used to. And they stayed longer than before. She had learned to tweak her use of essence just the right way to make this spell work.

“Incredible,” he said. “With this, you can fight like a small army.” He almost laughed. Of course, it would be Zoey who advanced the fastest. She always picked up on things faster than any of them. David gave her a small nudge before looking up to see the light of the last arrow fizzle away. He didn’t know when he started to clap. Chloe did the same. For all he’d tried to do with his powers, he hadn’t achieved anything as concrete as this. He was proud of her.

“You should see what Elisha can do now,” Zoey said. “And Chloe doesn’t show it but she has mastered some of the lesser spells in the phantom script.” David looked down at Chloe. She was suddenly shy. Smiling but looking away from him. He’d thought he was carrying the family alone but it seemed like they were all leaving him behind. He heard his father’s voice in his head and saw his mother’s smile. For a moment he wanted to curse himself. Then he felt Zoey’s hand on his arm. She was giving him that look again. Even with this new face, she had their mother’s kind eyes. Perhaps all the change they were experiencing wasn’t just this world making them into something new, but evolving what they’d always been. Zoey nodded.

********

Once again, we are at a crossroads…

He’d hated the song, but now that was all he could think about. It was Elisha’s favorite song. He’d hated it because of the noise. Yet as they inched closer to the cave, David recalled the chaotic beats and the sharp guitar strings. It had all been annoying. But the lyrics stuck. Again and again, they had ventured near death. Hoping that they took the right path. David closed his eyes, hoping he could keep the fear away from his chest. But the tightness wouldn’t ease. Behind him, he heard Chloe’s slow dragging steps. He sensed the fear oozing out of her. I will protect you, he thought but only Ignis’ chuckle came back to him.

You should have left her behind. This is no place for a budding bard.

David ignored the dragon. He had preferred when Ignis ignored him, but this was no time for quarrels. He would need all the help he could get.

Once they were at the edge of the woods, still masked by the dark shades of the night and the shadows of the forest, they crouched. Waiting for the signal. They’d split into two groups to make the initial attack faster and more efficient. Tara’s idea. She was different, more of a force now than she’d been when they fought. Jeremy followed her every word and so did Claire. Even Tez and the muscle he brought with him were obedient.

“What are tho—”

David clamped Chloe’s mouth, glaring at her in the dark. The night was still; silent as an assassin’s blade. Every rustle and shuffle was carried in the wind. David checked to see if she had been heard. Chloe looked scared, eyes wide in shock. When he was sure, he let go. Then placed a finger to his lips. Chloe nodded. He sighed, turning back to the task. Zoey was already glaring at Chloe and Elisha was grinning beside Hanna. They were buddies now.

Then it began. The burst of pale light shot into the sky. It exploded, raining light on them all. David rose, his body snapping into motion as Zoey’s Vjognir flew into the air, and shot forward like a canon into the first guard. Zoey lunged for the guard, a small knife appeared in her hand like it had always been there.

The blade found meat between his shoulder and neck and the guard fell back, dead in seconds.

David ran passed them, his sword out and his heart racing.

Crossroads.

David dodged left and then stepped forward into the guard’s space immediately. The man tried to scamper back but David drove the hilt of his sword into the man's temple, knocking him out. He was about to leave him there when a dark shadow rustled passed him, severing the guard’s head in its wake.

David turned to see Elisha’s shadow writhing about him like tentacles. He looked like the demon parents told stories about to make their kids behave. The shadow stretched, wrapping against another acolyte and then several sharp ends protruded, stabbing and killing. David swerved right by instinct. A spearhead grazed his face, drawing blood. He moved his face back, away from reach, and caught the spear. With a small tug, he pulled the veiled man closer and rammed his knee into the man’s groin. The man let go of the spear and David smacked his head hard enough to knock him down.

He didn’t have time to contemplate what he was doing. For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to kill them. He knew what they had done and that they deserved all the punishment he could deliver, yet he knew they were merely pawns. The real offenders were within the cave. Yet these low worshippers of Balek spilled out of the mouth of the cave. David grunted as he bashed another head with the hilt of his sword. They were pressing forward though, reaching the cave. He felt his fear slide off his shoulder, pushing extreme focus on him. Tara’s lightning sparked white into the night, illuminating them briefly and when it vanished, only a few of the veiled guards remained standing. The others were either dead or knocked out.

“Leave,” Tara growled and they fled.

Power, Ignis growled within David and he agreed. Tara was a force. Everyone could see it. She wielded her ability like a king’s crown.

Jeremy ran ahead, sword drawn, his body fluid in the new darkness. The air smelled of burnt skin, hair, and ozone. A sweet taste clung to the back of David’s throat and he hated it. They walked together through the haze of all that death. There was silence until David crossed the mouth of the cave. He hadn’t known what to expect, but it wasn’t the glowing moss-covered walls and the high roof from which two yellow eyes peered down. The light from the wall gave a dim, eerie light, which made the creature hanging above them even more troubling.

Its spindly legs stuck to either side of the wall. Its human mouth opened, wider than should be possible, and inside were rows and rows of tiny teeth. It hissed, face drooping from its long neck. Then it retracted its legs and began to fall.

“Claire,” Tara called and the girl slid forward, poised as if to leap. Then she swung her sword in a tight arch upward. A chill reached David. It was the same technique she’d used to cut through Elisha’s shadow. And just as David thought, the creature fell with a wet splat, sliced in two. Tara ruffled Claire’s hair proudly and Tez chuckled as he turned to lead them farther into the cave.

“You taught her well, Jeremy,” Tez said, his one hand behind his back, sword still sheathed.