Exiled - 01 (17 page)

The muscles in the demon’s neck tensed and the cold, rough skin grew warm. My hands were a ring of fire, and flames caught his skin and spread up his face. The skin softened beneath my fingers and I reached for the front of his throat. I dug my fingers in and tore the flesh away.

Black blood exploded from the wound and the demon dropped to one knee. I took this chance to leap from his back. His screams had become a deep gurgling sound as blood oozed out of his throat. He dropped the wooden club and clutched at his neck before collapsing to the ground.

I reached down and picked up my bloodied sword, swinging it above my head. I brought it down on his neck and watched as his head rolled away. I wanted to make sure this one was dead.

I turned to Rayna, who had blood dripping from her face and saw the smallest of the demon’s head roll away from its body.

“Look out!” Rayna shouted, pointing behind me.

The talons cut into my back before I could move, but I didn’t fall. I absorbed the pain, and in a single motion, I turned and grabbed the demon by the neck and lifted it off its feet. I took a step forward and threw him, driving my magic into him.

The flame exploded from my hand as I released my grip and followed the demon as it flailed in the air. Another flame, this one bright blue, arced in a stream towards him and engulfed his body until it exploded. Black blood erupted from the charred flesh before evaporating among the ash that rained from the sky.

Rayna stood beside me and we stared at the mess of bodies around us as they blazed red and orange and crumbled. Rayna’s bright green cat eyes gazed at me. Her skin looked paler when accented by splashes of bright red blood.

“I could have handled it,” I said.

“You’re welcome.”

A bright light shone behind us and we turned to Elyas.

“You are just as I’d hoped,” she laughed.

“What?” Rayna and I said in unison.

Her warm laughter faded into a glowing smile. “I’ve waited millennia for a warrior worthy of this,” she said, extending her hand, into which the scroll materialized. “It was worth the wait. I found not only one, but two champions.”

I hesitated before I reached out and grasped the scroll. A tremor of power moved through me as my fingers wrapped around the parchment and I nearly dropped it.

“But you tried to stop me. You almost got us both killed!” I said.

“I needed to know you were worthy of the mark.”

“What mark?”

“The mark of the gods,” she said, pointing to the scroll. “After all, you didn’t come here for just a piece of paper, did you?”

The scroll was made of parchment that looked older than anything I’d ever seen, filled with creases and cracks. As I unrolled it, black ink filled the roll of paper in a language I didn’t recognize, and a ring slid down from the top. It was a plain silver ring with a small red gem. I picked it up and realized it was the source of that vibrating power.

“Put it on and claim your prize, warrior,” Elyas said. I looked up at her and she nodded. “Go ahead,” she added, gently and encouragingly. I slipped the ring on my index finger and felt power course through my body. “Read,” she instructed.

I shook my head. “I don’t understand this.”

Elyas smiled. “It does not matter if you understand. The power is in the words themselves.”

I looked at the scroll and tried to sound out the syllables as best I could. “Ariaca, tracious, ona-forle, ma-tre-meendo, straticalla,” I said.

Nothing happened.
Déjà vu
. I thought.

I looked at Rayna, who shrugged, before a sudden flood of light consumed us and forced my eyes closed.

Thunder roared and the light faded. The statue behind us began to move with a strange grace, as if not made of stone. The man twirled his trident and pointed it towards me. Different colors of light shot from each of the three points and I turned away to shield myself.

The energy hit my back and I collapsed from the searing pain. I couldn’t keep the scream from escaping my lips as heat washed over me. Then, as fast as it had come, the pain was gone and Rayna was kneeling next to me. She stood and helped me to my feet.

“Oh my God,” Rayna said.

“Oh my Goddess, actually,” Elyas said. “It was after all, a goddess, not a god, who created your world. And it is from that goddess this gift comes.” Rayna’s hand touched my cheek and our eyes met.

“They’re healing! All your wounds are healing themselves,” she said.

I touched my face and felt the skin moving back over my exposed flesh. My fingers came back with blood, but the skin was knitting itself back together.

“How did you…” I said, looking at Elyas.

“The mark of the gods comes with many gifts, but this is not one of them. This healing is your own power. What you thought did not exist was inside you all along.” Elyas said.

“What are you?” I asked.

“I am a piece of the goddess’s soul. Each time a god or goddess creates a world, they are forced to give that world a piece of themselves. I belong to Earth.”

“What is this?” I pointed to the ring on my finger.

“It is Serephina’s ring. It will help you on your journey, as your elements will,” she said.

“But I don’t have an element.”

Elyas chuckled and displayed her palms and the red blisters upon them. “How do you explain how you wielded the flames, or used the healing power of water to close your wounds?”

“But I went through the ceremony; I wasn’t blessed with any elemental powers,” I protested.

Elyas sighed. “A hunter’s power is not meant to be forced out. It is raw magic that emerges on its own. It matters not when you get your powers, hunter, but that you get them when you’re ready. You have always had both the damaging blaze of fire and the healing calm of water. It seems, however, both blessings have chosen to reveal themselves to you only now. There is more power inside you than you know, my dear boy, and in time it all shall reveal itself.”

“How do you know all this?” Rayna asked.

“I am a piece of the goddess’s soul. As with any soul piece, I know what she knows,” she said.

My eyes widened. “There are multiple pieces?”

Elyas nodded. “Every world has one.”

“But the vampire who sent us here wanted the scroll. He never said anything about a goddess’s soul piece,” I said.

A cold expression washed over Elyas’s face. “Under no circumstances are you to give him this ring or the scroll. Although the scroll’s magic has been released, the object itself can still be used to lead him to other pieces. You do not want those in the hands of the wrong person.”

“What are the other pieces, and where?” I asked.

She sighed. “They are everywhere, in every dimension, and they take on many forms.”

“You said something about a mark?” Rayna said.

“Your hunter has a destiny to bear the mark of the gods. Only one true warrior receives such an honor – one who will lay down his own life for another’s.”

“What does it do?” I asked.

“It’s the mark of the gods. It does what it does.”

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Rayna, who only shrugged.

“That’s it?” I said.

“You are the protector. It is not a duty you should take lightly.”

“But I don’t know what that means!”

“You will. I wish you well on your journey.”

She turned and began floating away from us.

“No, wait!” I called out after her.

But there was no answer. She raised her arms and her form shifted into a ball of light that grew larger before dissolving into a blinding white radiance that forced my arm up to shield my eyes. When it faded, I pulled my arm away to find we stood back in the forest in front of the giant tree.

“I’m not sure what just happened,” I said.

Rayna eyed me. “I thought it made perfect sense,” she replied, walking past me towards the woods.

“Really?”

“Are you kidding me? I have no idea.”

~~~~~~

Chapter 18

Night had swallowed the sky and the street lamps were buzzing as we walked through the industrial park.

“How’s it feel?” Rayna said.

“What?”

“Does it feel strange to suddenly have elemental powers, and two of them at that? That’s pretty rare.”

“I know, but I don’t feel any different. Besides, we were in a place of magic. Everything was different there, so who knows what I can actually do.”

Rayna stopped and turned to me. “Try.”

“I don’t know how.”

She smiled and stepped closer. “What do you mean you don’t know how? You already did it. Reach down into the same place you get all your magic. Like when you focus on breaking down glamours, you have to focus on the element you’re calling.”

I closed my eyes and focused on drowning out everything around me. Sweat formed on my hands, mostly from the fear that nothing would happen.

I opened that magical place inside and let the magic pour out. I felt it warm me as I thought of fire, heat, and burning. The heat moved outward through me until I thought my insides would ignite. It hurt as I focused that power into one hand, imagining a fireball growing in my palm. I pushed at my magic and felt a flicker of warmth. I pushed a second time and the burst of warmth turned into a small ball of blue flame. I pushed harder and watched it grow, filling the palm of my hand with a tingle.

“Not so tough, is it?” Rayna remarked.

I laughed with excitement. “I guess not,” I said, but speaking made me lose focus and the tingle turned into a burning sensation. Panic replaced my excitement and I shook my arm furiously, the flame swaying with the movement. The heat blistered my skin and Rayna’s eyes went wide.

“Think about water, or something about smothering the flames out!” she yelled in a panic.

I did as she said, but it was hard to focus on anything through the pain. I gritted my teeth and pictured the flame being snuffed out and the smoke that would rise. The pain seared through me for one more moment before vanishing. I breathed heavily, feeling my pulse in my throat.

My hand smoked and I caught sight of the large blister seeping clear fluid. The pain had been mild until I looked at it. I tried to move my fingers but a cry of pain escaped my lips.

Rayna took hold of my arm. “I should have known better than to push you before you knew how to control the effects of your magic.”

She was right. This sort of thing is what happened when elementals tried to use their powers without knowing what they were doing. “This is going to take a long time to heal. Unless…” She looked up at me.

“Unless what?” I said, wincing in pain.

“Elyas said you were both a fire and water elemental. Maybe you can heal it like you did your wounds in the sanctuary.”

After how this first experiment had gone, I was nervous to try. Water might seem like a harmless element, but I’d seen what it could do. “Did you not see what just happened? I might try to heal it and end up drowning myself.”

Rayna nodded. “You’re right. You probably couldn’t do it on purpose anyway.” She shrugged. “Let’s go, then.”

I watched Rayna take a few steps and my arrogance got the best of me. I closed my eyes and thought of a creek with clear water moving over smooth stones, cool to the touch and pure. I pulled my magic up through me again. It came faster this time, but with an icy sensation. I pictured my wound wrapped in that cold, healing water and washed clean, the water flowing over it, pulling the skin back together.

“Wow...” Rayna said.

I opened my eyes and the searing pain had been replaced with a cool tingle. The blisters on my hand vanished before my eyes and new skin crept from my wrist over my palm. It didn’t stretch my existing skin, but the new skin grew at an alarming rate. I’d always healed faster than most, but this was remarkable. The skin knitted itself inch by inch over my palm and fingers. After a few minutes, my hand was covered in fresh skin without a trace of a wound.