Rise of the Citadel (The Search for the Brights Book 2) (62 page)

  As a small
stone, he turned himself along the shore deeper into the water. The saying,
“The tides have turned” crossed his mind as the wielders now controlled the
land he had prepared for his assault. His small stone body tumbled deeper into
the lake, trying to find earth that he could control.

  Angry with
himself more than the captain, he started to change his form, pulling in the
sand around him into one giant stone. He took the form of the largest creature
he could picture. He hoped that Joahna saw the two Fire Realm men now giving
chase along the ice bridge. Through the water he could see where the bridge
started and jumped to break away any reminate that other soldiers may attempt
to get to. His head crashed into the bridge shattering it and sending the
floating structure out onto the lake.

  In his now
giant form, he trudged his way up the bank and into view. Water slid off his
stone back as he formed the teeth, claws, and scales. Tucking in his wings, he
stood in his giant form for the army to recover and give another wave of
attacks.

  Instead, he
watched as captain Lorusk walked casually amongst the downed soldiers and
healed them with his imbuements. When those soldiers rose, they assisted in
healing others. Not one of the soldiers made any attempt to fight Max, or even
look in his direction. He was embarrassed and ashamed that he had fallen for
the captains ploy.

**********

The ice would
not be easy to traverse even with Kilen’s normal leather boots. His heavy
armored foot made it easy to slide on the slick surface splashed with water.
When he caught up with Twilix, they took each others hand. He wasn’t sure if it
was more for balance or because they had pronounced their love for eachother.
Either way Kilen, enjoyed having a flesh hand to hold after being alone with
his voices for so long.

Twilix and Kilen
passed some of the fire wizards, one still complaining about being stuck out on
the ice and drowning if they fell through. Kilen noticed the ice would steam a
bit where ever he placed his foot.

Twilix spoke in
a calm voice as she passed the man in straps of leather clothing, “Do not sit
in one place for long or you will melt through. Call out if you need us and we
will come to you.”

They did not
wait long, as a violent storm stirred above their heads. Lightning lit the icy
paths in an almost continuous flash. Thunder echoed on the lake’s surface,
ushering them along. Bowie stood watching the sky when they reached him.

“It’s Mica,
isn’t it?” Bowie asked.

Twilix and Kilen
slid to a stop, looking upwards into the deadly light show that raged above
their heads. A wind wielder could be seen flailing and trying to avoid the
bolts of power streaking through the clouds. Jace was surely watching the skies
and keeping away any wielder from above.

Kilen tugged
Twilix along the path, “I don’t know who it is, but as long as they stay up
there, I feel safer.”

Bowie nodded and
continued to glance up every few steps as if he could jump out of the way if a
streak of lightning came down.

Jaohna could be
seen ahead, casually walking on the ice as the rest of the group bunched up
behind him. Kilen looked back to see the bank fading behind them in the night.
He could no longer make out the shape of his earth elemental friend guarding
their path.

Once the group
got closer together Joahna could concentrate on a small area. Joahna began
speeding his walk. The group tried to move together, but Kara was busy ushering
along the fire wizards still causing the ice to steam with every step. The
storm’s torrent had no direct effect on Kilen and his group below, but it did
cause small waves of water to splash over the surface of the ice. Joahna had to
compensate by making short walls of ice to either side so they group wouldn’t
fall off. The extra time needed to form the walls slowed them as they
approached the center of the lake.

Kara called out
to Kilen, “Look. Along the bank.”

Kilen turned
around and saw fireballs streaking towards the sky, and underneath were
hundreds of soldiers on horseback galloping down the shoreline. Kilen had seen
the pirates use this trick before so they could see Kilen in the night.

“They’re
searching for us. They don’t know where we are. Keep moving,” Kilen said over
the claps of thunder.

Kara nodded and
continued to prod the one fire wizard as he grumbled his way down the icy path.
Sparks would pop off of his shoulders and flames would trickle off his arms;
the more he slipped on the ice the louder his complaints became.

“I will not
fight a war for you!” A fireball rushed towards the line and was blocked by a
piece of ice, resulting in the pathway shifting and throwing all of them to
their backs. Brent quickly stood and held his open hands out to the lake on
both sides of the path. Tendrils twice the thickness of a horse rose up out of
the water on both sides of the path at his command. The fire wizard’s body was
engulfed in flames, sinking into the ice under his feet just before the two
tendrils smashed together, resulting in a cloud of steam. When the water
cleared, the unconscious wielder lay flat on the ice.

Brent continued
on to the front of the line taking up Ria’s hand, “We haven’t time to keep him
in check. We must do this here,” Brent said helping form the platform of ice.

Bowie let go of
Kara’s arm and picked up the limp wizard.

Kara’s eyes went
wide when she saw how easily he picked up the man. “When did you become an
earth wielder?”

  “The moment
your brother brought us on this crazy adventure,” He snapped back.

Joahna stood at
the mouth of the ice bridge and they all watched as the path widened at his
feet. Kilen joined him and soon after Brent and Twilix added their magic as
well. The tiny island grew in size, it was now so large, a house could sit on
top. Brent moved to the bridge, watching fireballs and arrows consumed in flame
flare across the sky. The battle that erupted along the beach caught his
attention for only a moment. With a wave of his hand, the ice snapped and broke
free. Two men running along its length fell over at the jolt.           

Brent went to
the center of the island that now floated freely on top of the lake. He waved
Kilen and Twilix forward. “I’m sorry, this will have to be done quickly.
Perhaps when things have calmed down we will be able to do this more
ceremoniously.” He spoke to both of them but looked more at Twilix. “Twilix
Havensmith, do you take this man to be your husband?”

She smiled at
Kilen with wet eyes, “Yes, I do.”

Brent turned to
Kilen, “Do you, Kilen Everheart, take his woman to be your wife?”

“Yes,” Kilen
answered as he swallowed.

Twilix held up a
hand to Brent as he opened his mouth, “Are you sure you want to marry me?”

“Yes,” Kilen
answered with confidence.

“And give me a
child?” Twilix said raising an eyebrow.

Kilen’s mouth
hung open a bit but nothing came out.

“I know it’s a
lot to ask, and you have had already many big decisions to make today. Having a
child is something that I cannot live without,” Twilix said.

Kilen snapped
his mouth shut and nodded his head, “Yes, of course.”

Twilix smiled
lowered her hand so that Brent could continue.

  “By the power
invested in me by wizard law, I pronounce you husband and wife. The crown, boy,
give me the crown,” Brent said as he closed the book. He waved his hands,
urging the ceremony along and noticed everyone watching him, “Yes, of course
congratulations. Come now, the crown.”

  The others
clapped as Kilen pulled the crown out of his satchel. Before Brent started
talking, Twilix pulled Kilen in for a brief kiss. He dropped the crown, lucky
Brent managed to snatch it out of the air.

“Your blade boy,
let me see it,” Brent said reopening the book.

Kilen pulled the
three elemental blade from its leather home and held it up in front of him.

“Kilen
Everheart, being a holder of a three element blade given freely of your father
and imbued as testimony of your skills, I stand before you. Do you vow to
uphold the laws of the Water Realm and the Law of the Wizards as set forth by
Lord Heathmos and Afrindoel? Do you vow to always protect the people of this
realm? Do you give your oath to give your life in service of the elemental
realms seeking peace, truth, and knowledge? If you agree and accept these
conditions, kneel and repeat after me: I, Kilen Everheart, give my oath on pain
of death that I do solemnly swear to protect this land and everyone in it.”

  Kilen knelt
and spoke with a shaking voice the words that had been declared. Brent raised
the crown far into the air and slowly laid the smooth circlet upon Kilen’s
head. Repeating the process, he carefully placed the second crown on Twilix’s
head.

When Twilix
stood Brent laid a hand on her cheek, “I am sorry that Jace and your parents
could not be here to witness this moment. They all would be proud, and I know
you will make a great queen.”

While Brent
spoke Kilen watched her face adorned by the jeweled circlet, thinking that the
crown was a perfect fit for her. Brent then hugged Twilix and resumed his
hurried pace flipping through the Elder Wizard’s book.

“Now then, we
have all the parts for the recipe. Let’s get you two a city,” Brent announced.

  The leather
bound book was old and its pages looked as if any touch would rip them to
pieces. Brent carefully turned through them to find the exact words that needed
to be spoken.

“In the ancient
language you say, ‘the king has come.” You must put your sword in the water and
say ‘Doel eh t’shadria.”

Except for the
occasional clap of thunder from above, the night seemed to be quiet as Kilen
traversed the small, icy island. He knelt down near the island’s edge and
extended the sword into the water. He looked around as the bystanders watched
Kilen intently, waiting for a magical city to raise out of the murky lake. A
flaming arrow flew out from the frozen path towards the party, luckily it was
blown off course and sizzled into the water. Two of the Earth Realm’s troops
had managed to slip past Max. Bowie and Auburn began returning arrows.

Kilen looked
back at the sword’s tip submerged in the water concentrating on his
pronunciation he said, “Doel eh t’shadria.”

The thunder
cracked above and the small waves washed over the edge of their platform of
frozen water. Still, the wind did not stir. There was no flash of light and the
waves did not alter. A second arrow hurdled past out as the men moved closer
down the pathway. This arrow had come closer to hitting the small party. Kilen
wasn’t worried about the arrows. He was worried about what imbuements the two
men might be carrying, or the concussion that would come to his brain if Bowie
managed to kill one. He was frightened that he would not be able to hold his
balance.

He pushed his
blade in farther, submerging the emblems of magic below the surface of the
pitch black waters. “Doel eh t’shadria!” He screamed into the night, answering
back the thunder that rolled over the lake.

Still, nothing
happened. He slowly pulled the blade back from the water and observed a tiny
bubble surface. As he watched, the island’s edge started to melt and more
bubbles formed as if the water was boiling underneath the ice. He stepped back,
as did the others. Twilix and Brent both tried to keep the edge of the island
frozen but to no avail. Joahna stood like stone frozen to the center of the
shrinking pad. Everyone jumped when the island cracked, letting out a snap as
the pieces broke apart breaking down the middle. The Earth Realm men yelled as
they were cast into the churning waves from the bridge.

Twilix held onto
Kilen, their grip stretched over the edge of the ice as it tumbled in the
water. The fire wizards all slid into the water on the far end of the second
piece. Al’tore grabbed the unconscious wizard as he started to sink into the
water. Still, the pieces of ice melted, forcing those on top to jump into the
water or be thrown in by the pieces wobbling.

Twilix looked
over the edge and clung to Kilen, “My water magic is not working!” The panic
clearly showed on her face.

Kilen felt
something hit his leg just before a ball of ice on a frosted translucent spike
rose out of the water. He reached out and grabbed onto the spire as he rose out
of the water with it. In his other hand he still hung on to Twilix, who was now
reaching for Brent. The others tried to grip the rising spike’s smooth surface
as the water pushed them away from Kilen. Kara had a look of terror as she
tried to stay on top of the water.

The spire
continued to slip through Kilen’s fingers as it grew in thickness. The bubbling
water became more violent. Kilen felt something hit his feet and push up from
under him. He rose out of the water standing on a dome which the spike was
centered on. Twilix and Brent were still on the angle as it grew. Kilen held on
and had no problem supporting the weight of his new wife. However, Twilix was
straining to hold onto the wet hands of her wizard mentor.

The rest of
their party yelled while they struggled against the churning water.

“Joahna,” Kilen
yelled out. No answer and no relief came, the body of his elemental friend was
now submerged in the water. The dome, still rising, stood higher than three
stories above the water’s surface. Brent slipped out of Twilix’s grip, sending
him sliding down the angled glass-like dome.

Kilen panicked.
Trying to reach out with his other hand, he slipped on the wet surface. He held
onto Twilix’s hand as they slid down, watching Brent disappear over it’s now visible
edge. It was only a moment longer when Twilix and Kilen flew over as well,
plummeting down to the surface of the churning water. Kilen breathed in and
released his grasp on Twilix just before he sank into the dark waters. The
light of the moon let him see her kicking her feet far above on the surface.