Melinda POV
I wasn’t sure what caused it but Silvon was different now, closer to darkness and mentally fragile. The hope and determination that spurred me to help him in Avantia was all but gone.
The pain and regret in his eyes was almost unbearable. Silv was still innocent and naive, his nature was gentle and kind. He should not have been capable of such cruelty and violence. He wasn’t really; even if he enjoyed it in the moment, his expression now confirmed that his nature hadn’t changed. Despite the resemblance, Silvon and Liriel couldn’t be more different.
I wasn’t sure how to help Silv, but I knew who could. “Let’s go back to Zidg. We have enough information, we can wait for Lumia and make a plan.” I said softly, hoping he’d agree.
Silv nodded as he pulled away from my embrace, saying, “Let’s go.”
Warm feelings danced inside me at his words. I might’ve been reading into the situation, but something in his reply made me feel seen, acknowledged. I was used to being ignored and treated as if my only value was in my appearance. For a while I accepted that, but I didn’t have to anymore.
‘Silv,’ I said, but didn’t hear my voice. The world lurched sideways and a crimson stream separated me from my body.
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Few things were more unpleasant than regeneration. The process could be longer or slower depending on several factors, but what was most unpleasant about it was the itching. Worse than any razor burn, my entire head felt as if it was crawling with ants trying desperately to crawl under my skin. The sensation was most intense around my neck, but I’d experienced this enough times to know scratching only made it worse.
As soon as my body was able, I opened my eyes and sat up. I was still in the same place, but Silvon was gone. My clothes were covered half dried blood and unfortunately it was clumped in my hair as well—my favorite part of returning after death… not really, obviously. I didn’t see whatever killed my either, not that I knew what it was.
Sighing deeply, I got to my feet. Dark clouds rolled over the stars and strong winds whistled between buildings. Lightning crashed down with devastating force on the city’s central building. One bolt after another fell on the building until the structure was left in ruin. The roar of thunder reverberated through air incessantly as residents poured from their homes into the streets.
Men, women and children, some still in their sleepwear, filled the square. They looked briefly at the sky, then panic took the crowd. Everyone was shouting and pushing, trying to make their way to the city gate. This storm wasn’t natural, it must have been Styrmir. This couldn’t have been a common occurrence; it didn’t take long to think of might’ve provoked the storm.
I pushed against the crowd but couldn’t make much progress. I was being swept away in the evacuation wave and I was to weak to fight the current, at least directly. Mana pushed out from my feet, joining with the sea of swarming shadows then pulling me under into a mirror world.
In this place only shadows existed. Any space in the true world that was illuminated would be like a dark void here. If I entered a void, I’d never be able to return and that’s why I almost never used this ability. I both loved and hated shadow walking because this false reality was one of few places where the possibility of a true death actually existed for me.
Uninhibited by the crowd, I raced toward the central building. Normally this place was safe at night, but not tonight. Many in the crowd were carrying torches or conjuring lights far brighter than the little wispy things they called street lights. I couldn’t just stick along buildings either since lights left on inside were shining out of open doors and windows. I had to take care and observe the space carefully and move quickly toward my target while also being mindful of the lightning strikes that periodically brightened everything in a flash.
At last reaching the building, I saw less than even a ruin. An open door and roughly twenty feet of the entrance hall were all that remained. Countless bodies lay charred and smoldering, some still crackling with electric energy. Beyond the hall, still a long distance away, I saw a golden haired woman standing confidently in front of a huge ball of lightning.
“So, ya got ‘ere first,” a gravely voice asked from bring me.
“Huh!” I was startled. I hadn’t noticed any one approaching, but I recognized his voice. “Zidg, what the hall are you doing here?” I asked as spun around to face him.
Jutting his chin up toward the scene being the door, he answered, “Same as you lass, probably. ‘ere ta stop a mistake before it’s made.”
“I thought Silvon would be here, that’s why I came. I couldn’t care less about that girl throwing her life away.”
He laughed loudly then added, “If ya want ta help Silv, ya gotta stop her first." His grin widened slightly, revealing his rotten teeth.
“Cryptic as always.” I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, isn’t it a bit late to stop the ‘mistake?’ I’m pretty sure we’re already past the point of no return.”
He nodded calmly as he stepped into what remained of the building. “Looks that way.” Zidg grunted. Then, pulling something from his cloak he said, “Guess I should get started.”
Zidg disappeared then reappeared a hundred yards away. He was still closer to me than he was to the golden haired girl, but I figured even for him going any closer would be dangerous.
Lightning shot out randomly from the elemental, each bolt ripped through the air with concussive force that shook the ground and threw me off balance even though none of them came close to me. Zidg was closer, but the blasts only ruffled his clothes. He slammed some kind of stake in the ground, then vanished again.
Cutting wide arcs with her sword, the golden haired woman danced around the elemental. She seemed to be moving in slow motion, but she was always a step ahead of electrified tendrils that followed her every move. I thought it strange that none of her slashes were aimed at the elemental directly, instead she cut the air around him. Her strikes must have been redirected, but she didn’t give up.
“What a fool,” I scoffed.
So far she’s managed to avoid being struck, but if a bolt even grazed her, it would leave her debilitated at best. Whatever her motive, it couldn’t have been worth this. Buildings crumbled each time the elemental struck, countless lives must have been lost and all because this woman thought to challenge a primal being.
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Zidg appeared again, but this time far beyond the woman and the elemental. He slammed down another spike then disappeared again. Until now I had been unable to advance because of the lightning, but the longer the battle went, the fewer bolts struck away from the fray.
Looking carefully I could see that it wasn’t that the elemental was focusing his power, but the lightning was being redirected. A polymorphic barrier of sorts had been drawn around the creature, but it still had some gaps. Unlike a normal barrier that blocked or absorbed all attacks of a certain strength; this was more like fragmented space that bent around and compounded on itself in endless loops. Anything that entered the cut space would be trapped inside it unless the space was set right again.
I realized then that this was what the girl was doing, why she wasn’t attacking directly. She was trying to confine the elemental, but how could she bend space like that? It didn’t matter, she was clearly aiming to kill the elemental. If she succeeded then we might never find Silvia. I wasn’t sure what I could do to stop her, but I knew I had to try something.
I rushed forward, throwing caution to the wind. Condensing shadow mana on my palm, I put my hands together then spread them out again. The mana spread into a flat crescent blade then shot forward. The dark blade ripped through the air, splitting anything its path. It cut through stone pillars and steal beams, sliced cleanly through every fiber of a hanging curtain. I wasn’t sure what I expected would happen, but when the blade reached the girl, she blocked it with her sword.
Gold steel, like a beam of sunlight, sliced through my spell. My heart sank knowing there was nothing else I could attempt. Without thinking much farther I ran left towards the crumbling ruins of an adjacent building. If she came after me, I’d at least be able to distract her attention…
I ran smack into Zidg, tumbling over the stout dwarf, unable to slow my momentum. We landed hard against a wall which refused to hold our weight. It gave way letting us fall into a kitchen on the other side. At once Zidg stood tall, glaring upward where I met his gaze. For a moment neither of us spoke, then he spat out, "Ya done restin’ lass?"
"Not quite," I replied sarcastically.
“Get up lass. I expect that I’ll need ya ta bring Silv back, so try ta stay alive,” he said bluntly. With a grunt he picked up a dropped spike and hurried back to where we collided. He paused near the gaping hole leading outside, saying without turning, "An’ don't try anything foolish again." Stabbing the spike into the ground, he vanished again.
Intense rumbling shook more bricks from the wall, beams fell from the ceiling and glass dishes shattered on the floor. A voice like thunder boomed viciously, saying, “You play with power beyond your limits and it will destroy you!”
A woman’s laughter carried on the breeze, then her calm voice. “Worry more about your own limits, if I self destruct isn’t that to your advantage?” She paused. There was absolute silence for several moments, then she spoke again. “Besides, destruction has never frightened me. In fact, I welcome it. Power is freedom. Freedom means choice and choices mean consequences." More chuckles rolled through the empty streets and ruined halls. Finally she continued, "But let's say that I fail in freeing myself. What does failure imply anyway? Is defeat worse than annihilation? How can anyone know until they've experienced both possibilities firsthand?”
She did something at that moment, I wasn’t sure what but I was certain it hurt the elemental. Styrmir groaned as an electric crackle ground to halt.
“Last chance little storm. Give me Raiden and I’ll go.”
Left alone I crept to the exit and cautiously peaked outside. The space around the elemental was completely distorted. Any move the creature made could rip it apart, he was cut off from the sky so he couldn’t escape into the storm. The girl had full control of the situation. Confining an elemental was a near impossible task, but this elf girl seemed to do it effortlessly.
After several minutes of silence, Styrmir answered, “I don’t have it.” His voice lacked all the bravado and ferocity he spoke with before. It seemed as if he was acknowledging defeat and prepared for death.
The girl shook her head while raising her sword. I held my breath waiting for the inevitable strike. ‘Where is Zidg?’ I thought. ‘Wasn’t he trying to stop this?’
As if summoned by my thoughts, the dwarf next to the woman and smashed her sword with his hammer. The blade exploded under the blow, sending shards flying everywhere. The golden haired woman stumbled backward, then put a hand behind her back, opening and closing it as if grasping for something. Whatever it was, she didn’t find it. Zidg lifted his massive hammer with one hand then resting it on his shoulder. A victorious smile spread on his face as he said, “Nowhere left ta run now, Mirin.”
Styrmir laughed aloud. Lightning erupted and crackled loudly through the twisted space around him. Within seconds the area returned to normal and a wave of lightning exploded out.
I took shelter, ducking back inside the building and waited for things to settle down.
When the rumbling finally stopped I heard Styrmir grumbling, “So in the end I’ll be saved by you…despicable.”
Looking over shoulder at the elemental, Zidg bellowed, “Who said anything about saving? Yer both my prisoners fer now.”
Mirin looked confused for a brief instant, but quickly recovered herself and forcefully thrust an open hand toward Zidg. She wasn’t close to enough to push him and I didn’t sense any mana, so I had no idea what she was doing. Zidg didn’t appear bothered or worried. He just laughed. “Doesn’t matter what power you try to use, only my skills will work here.”
“Is that so?” Mirin asked calmly. Then she added, “Even the divanory fear me, so who are you to stand so casually before me.”
Zidg shrugged. “Does it matter lass?”
Mirin clenched her jaw and barred her teeth. “I’ll—”
“Not interested. Come on lass, yer comin’ with me…” Zidg held up something like an iron lantern. Powerful magic was oozing off the device, like every other object the dwarf owned, it seemed like it might be cursed.
Mirin turned immediately, bursting into a full sprint. Styrmir also appeared bothered, shirking away from the object, but did not run.
Something ghastly came out from the lantern; its form was concealed in black smoke, but its stench spread through the air unrestrained. The creature caught Mirin easily, wrapping around her and holding her in place. Then Zidg looked to me. “Yer up lass, time ta bring Silv back.”
I didn’t understand. Silv wasn’t here so how was I supposed to bring him back? Without moving, I was somehow right in front of Mirin, staring into her silver eyes. She was angry, still fighting against whatever restrained her. Seeing me, her eyes widened with apparent amusement. Her lips spread into a condescending grin and she sneered. “This is your plan? You think this girl can bring him back?”
With a grunt, Zidg replied, “Eh, guess we’ll find out.”
I finally understood. This woman, if she was saint Mirin, should have died a thousand years ago, so the only way she could be here now was in a borrowed body. “Silv,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “Please, come back to me.”
Nothing happened and after a few repeated attempts, Mirin laughed in my face. “Though brought the wrong girl,” she sneered. As if to mock me she added, “Lumia’s feelings would definitely reach him.” Cackling crazily she yelled, “Just release me already!”
“Com’on lass! Hug ‘im, kiss ‘im, do whatever ya gotta do ta get through.” Zidg boomed.
I would have happily done so if it wasn’t an ancient, apparently evil, saint taunting me and demanding to be released. I wanted to help Silv, but I wasn’t sure I could, maybe Mirin was right. Silvon needed Lumia, not me. Maybe, but I wasn’t giving up yet. “SILVON!”
The dark creature thrust Mirin forward, letting her fall into my arms. Instinctively I caught her and our lips met. Both our eyes went wide, then something changed in hers and I knew then.