Chapter 5
The Corrupted
“So, the old man is following us around after all?” Warren’s hiss, pained and through clenched teeth, still reverberated around the sanctuary. The building shuddered further, each of the pillars cracking under the strain from the earlier floods. “Atrum said you might, since you met.”
“How astute of him,” Alexander spoke. His long white robes trailed behind him, dipping to the pool while never getting wet. The hand not holding to his staff clutched Krysta tightly and she shivered in his hold, her matted hair drooping over her eyes. “Then you know what I am doing here.”
“Do not stand in my way, Steward!” Whatever pain Warren felt, it was nothing compared to his blind hatred. His tail whipped outwards, bashing against a shield that Alexander erected with little effort. The whirling swords were created in his hands and Warren slashed down, beating at the shield over and over with little difference. “You cannot block forever, old man! Your power is just as tied to the Lifeblood as anyone else’s! You will fall!”
In the mess of battle that was erupting between the two opposing forces, Terrill carried himself over to where Floyd and Walter were, drenched but alive. Torry, too, had joined them, each of them collapsing into one another as the building shook again. Things were getting worse from both outside and within as the roof overhead began to crack, raining rubble upon them.
“What now, Terrill? We can’t get to the Lifeblood from here!” Floyd shouted over the chaos. Terrill didn’t have an answer for him, his eyes focused upon Krysta as Alexander let go of her. He shoved her towards the Lifeblood, his sleeves sweeping out.
Terrill wanted to reach her first of all.
“You have denied me my vengeance, old man.”
“It’s amazing, Defiler, how you have such a silver tongue, yet in your enduring hatred for Invaria, it becomes nothing. How little you must consider yourself.” On his own, Alexander broke his own shield, the defense becoming splinters of light that then soared, peppering Warren’s entire body. The Fiend did not relent, his blades now a twin whip that whirled around. Alexander spun his staff, tossing one of the appendages away before thrusting the point of his staff at Warren’s body. “You seek to destroy the very Lifeblood that sustains you, as well. How blind hatred is. It is no wonder he believes his plan will succeed.”
Warren had no words, his slit pupils shrunken yet further while he slithered forth. Every movement created a disturbance in the water, blasting geysers in a line for Alexander. One of the columns supporting the room was shattered to pieces and a horrible groaning filled the air. Terrill looked up to see a fissure running along the ceiling. They were out of time for this.
“Torry, I need an ice path! Now!” Terrill shouted. “We only get one shot to get out of here alive.”
Torry nodded, placing her hand in the pool. A carpet of ice sped out towards the dais where the Lifeblood sat, the dueling pair impervious to its creation. Warren’s sword clashed upon the staff, but Alexander showed minimal effort in tossing it off and piercing the snake’s entire body. From that wound, water spouted forth, like blood but not. Terrill couldn’t pay it any mind. He leapt on to the trail of ice and skated down it, careful to maintain balance. Another pillar was broken, crashing onto the path just behind him. The balance of the ice was broken, flipping Terrill into the air until he rolled on the dais, right to Krysta’s side, where he grabbed her hand.
She refused to budge, staring at the duel with horrified fascination.
“Do not lecture me on hatred! Do not lecture me on fate! I am Warren, Defiler of the Waters, one of the eldermost Fiends, and you know it!” Warren’s twin swords joined together in a whirling blade that cut up the water and the roof with it, all with the intent of slicing apart the man that dared oppose them. “This will, our will, must be achieved! I’ll not be lectured by you!”
“Seal.”
Alexander was calm in the face of Warren’s tirade, doing nothing but tapping his staff into the pool. Bright light enveloped Warren, and as Terrill clasped Krysta, he saw the white chains that had bound Atrum wrap themselves around the Fiend, squeezing inwards until the swords upon the man’s form vanished. Warren gagged, his body quivering and shaking, and Terrill saw the shadow now rising from within, the very same that had nearly consumed him. His eyes turned to the Lifeblood and a ringing soon filled his ears. Something was coming.
The Shadow was coming.
“How you underestimate souls, my dear Fiend,” Alexander spoke. He took a step, keeping his hold upon Warren as the man, or snake, was bound. Terrill didn’t know what to call him, but his attention was divided between both Fiend and the Lifeblood that looked ready to blow. “You consider them ghosts, and nothing to be feared, and yet, as a Fiend, you should understand more than anybody that souls are power.”
“Yes…they are…” Warren huffed out, and Terrill felt his body shake when he saw the Fiend was smiling. “The power of regret, hatred, loneliness… And the power of despair is a soul’s greatest power.”
Alexander thrust his staff forth, further contorting Warren. The man’s body was changing again, shrinking once more as his tail began to vanish, like the flow of magic to his body was being shut off. Still, he did not refrain from smiling. “What did he do? I know his shadow lays thick upon the Lifeblood, so what did he hope to accomplish? Answer me, Warren, and I may purify your soul.”
“Hah…ever trying to play, Alexander, and you never figured it out. This is what you get for staying in Priscus all day, waiting for a light that will never ret-Agh!” Unable to do anything but speak, Alexander sent a laser of light drilling into Warren’s calve, disdain upon his face for the Fiend. Warren found amusement in that while the ringing grew sharper, almost drowning out the words that formed on his lips. “He tied them to one place, driven by despair. He bound the Lifebloods with his string. And in that place…it awaits to emerge. The Lifebloods will serve as a crucible for it. The Shadow will cover Adversa and destroy this world’s flow!”
Warren was manic, but Terrill knew the truth as the ringing suddenly cut out. Terrill threw himself and Krysta to the floor.
In one blast, darkness erupted from the surface of the Lifeblood. The shadow that had hung thick upon it had reached a breaking point, and with it, there was nothing to hold it back. The shadow swirled and stormed as it exploded from within, disintegrating pillars and eroding away the ceiling. It was a mass of howling despair and regret, carrying with it the voices that had tormented Terrill when they had been inside him. He resisted, however, knowing they were nothing but lies. Krysta was more prone, shaking in the storm as tears formed.
“No… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to… I didn’t…”
“Krysta! Krysta!” Terrill shook her, forcing her to look up. Her tears were streaming down, unable to be stopped, but Terrill held her tight. Sunlight and the frigid air began to cool the water they were standing in, and brought the streaming shadow in sharp relief as it whirled around. Warren was laughing while Alexander stood over him, horror drawn upon his face.
“This is it! Invaria will fall! There’s no going back, so long as our shadow remains!”
“Then we’ll cut that shadow!” Terrill screamed, but he wasn’t sure if the Fiend had heard him. It didn’t matter, as Terrill grabbed Krysta, pulling her up. “This is what we came here for, Krysta! To free it!”
“Terrill…” Her voice warbled, and she looked ready to shut down until Terrill shook her, reminding her where they were and what they were doing. “I don’t want to lose anyone else. I don’t…we shouldn’t be…”
“Krysta.” Terrill held her close, their faces almost touching as he addressed her. The shadow raged around them, and cannon fire could be heard with the sanctuary now exposed, but Terrill had this moment only for Krysta. “We won’t. You and I, we’ll do this. I promised you back on Silicias that we would free the Lifebloods. I’m keeping that promise. The same way you cut the shadow right out of me, cut it out of the Lifeblood. We’re stopping the Fiends.”
Krysta wanted to believe him. He knew wholeheartedly how much she wanted to, but every minute tremor on his body told him what an impossible task that was in her mind. As the shadow raged on, her gray eyes were clouded over, grief of some unspoken tragedy filling her irises. Terrill could see the dark cloud reflected there, tormenting her, so all he could do was hold her steady in the midst of the overwhelming madness. Finally, after what felt an eternity but only lasted a few seconds, she gripped his sleeves and bent her head, burying it into his chest.
“Help me.”
He didn’t understand why she was asking this, or what it meant to her. But her plea was earnest, and he had but one answer to give her strength. “I will.”
Sound roared back into their space and Krysta raised her head, wiping the tears from her eyes and standing against the torrent of darkness that was feeding off the Lifeblood. Warren was still laughing, and Alexander stood over him, but the elderly man spared a glance for Krysta as she stood against the tide. Terrill had her back, holding her body still as she stretched for the Lifeblood, careful not to touch the shadow. Her hands glowed as the wisps around them attempted to torment her; he could tell from her twitches while he remained impervious to their words. Then, she slashed forward.
“I’m sorry…” she uttered, close to Terrill’s ears but never intended for them. The light from her hands was clearer than anything Terrill had seen, and with that one blow, she bore deep into the shadow spilling from the Lifeblood. With a horrendous scream, the distorted souls of despair crying out from within were purified, slashed aside until there was nothing left but a pale, winter sun shining down above the Lifeblood. All that was left was a trickle of shadowy strings between the Lifeblood and Warren, something that made the Fiend cease his laughter.
“Out of mirth, are we?” Alexander said, taking pleasure in the man’s mollification. He pressed the tip of his staff down against the Fiend, like a weight that refused movement. The old man bent down. “So, therein lies the boy’s plan. To destroy the Lifebloods from within and attain control over the cycle of souls, rendering integration impossible.”
“So that is what their purpose is for?” Torry said. She waded through the water, Floyd and Walter supporting each other behind her. “Then, what does that make the Fiends…?”
“As I told you, the Lifebloods support the flow of souls between Dimidia and Adversa. Once I puzzled out that he would make a move on them with the Fiends under his control, I knew an intervention was necessary.”
“You’re too late…old man…” Warren said, barely able to get his breaths out. Now that he was back in human form, the damage sustained to his body was evident, just as the fact he was bleeding water over blood. “You can free…the Lifeblood here…but it will make no difference. He hedged his bets on that. War is a…crucible for despair.”
“Well, then I’ll have to seal that shadow up and toss it back. The Lifebloods were not made to be tampered with.”
“Ha ha! Yes, you would know. But he…banked on that, too. You’ve lost, old man. You left the source of light’s pillar. You’ll…never make it in time. He found a way around your inst-” Alexander shot him through the chest, all of the remaining strings ripping apart from the Lifeblood. The Fiend screamed with agony as he twitched and thrashed about in the water, the general looking like a pathetic child now that he was bested. Alexander swept his robe outward, releasing his seal on the fallen Fiend to address them with all haste.
“You made your decision, Mr. Jacobs. I hope you intend on seeing it through. The Lifebloods remain in danger, but there is no doubt that Gladius remains at the greatest risk, and the Lifeblood of Wind that rests therein,” Alexander instructed the five of them, each nodding at the information given. “If the war is allowed to continue, many will die and the flow will be interrupted from Adversa to Dimidia. I cannot say what happens after that, but for the eradication of all. It is imperative you restore order to Gladius.”
“And how exactly do we-?” Warren twitched, a final triumphant grin on his face, and Terrill raised his sword, but was too slow on the swing. The Fiend’s hand touched to the water.
“Flood!” he cackled, all semblance of sanity lost in his final desperate attempt to take them out. That move cost him, with Alexander acting in cruel precision that pierced the Fiend through the heart. He gagged, and like his comrade in Blaise before him, the general faded to nothing but droplets of rain, the shadow around the Lifeblood disappearing almost entirely.
It had not prevented his last gasp.
The wave rose and crashed upon them before they had the chance to blink. Alexander weathered it, though he dropped to a knee before it crashed upon him, his breathing ragged. The rest of them, however, were carried away by the sudden force, through the broken walls of the sanctuary. Terrill tried to fight back, but only received saltwater in his mouth for his troubles. Alexander looked up at him, and with his gaze imparted his desire for Terrill to continue on, apologizing for the age of his body preventing him from going any further. Terrill tried to beat back against the waters once more, but failed, turning his hand to Krysta’s and grasping her. She was cold.
Soon as they took hold of one another, the waters continued to sweep them outside, eroding away what was left of the sanctuary. Torry and Floyd were screaming, but Terrill was paying more attention to not getting impaled by the glaciers they crashed through once they were deposited outside. That was complicated by the five of them hitting the icy path and starting to slide down it, the loss of friction apparent as they spun out into a roll. Terrill feared it would never end until, finally, he slammed into Walter, who had hit the gate. They were stuck, groaning for a moment.
“Get off…” the older man grunted, tossing the four of them to the end of the path where they lay, soaked and gasping. Walter wasn’t any better, but attempted to keep himself composed before he scoffed. “Useless. We couldn’t even find out where he went.”
“Yeah, ‘cause that was important,” Floyd remarked sardonically. He was back on his feet, helping Torry up while the girl was twitching back and forth.
“You hear that?” she asked, causing the five to listen intently. They were out of danger from the Fiends, but Terrill didn’t want to linger more than necessary. His sword was still in his hand, though his body felt heavy from the water, and as he looked down at his dripping clothes, he heard what Torry was observing. “Running water. Krysta, you did it! We did it! We must have! Otherwise-”
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A second sound joined the fray, and this one was less joyous. It started off high-pitched before getting louder, and Terrill had his guess about what it was. Before they could find out, he placed his hands on the ground and erected a stone shield.
He was grateful he did. Only seconds later, an errant cannonball from a ship off the shore broke through the gate and embedded itself into the stone, crumbling it and causing the hunk of metal to roll to the ground with a thunk. There was one thing Warren hadn’t been lying about. Their task in Sheeris wasn’t over yet.
“Walter, Torry, I know we’re exhausted, but get some air!” Terrill ordered, not stopping for a breath. With the way into the town clear, he stepped forward, brandishing his sword and ready for a fight. “Floyd, Krysta, right now, the people need help. That’s all that matters. There’s no point to stopping the war if there’s nothing left because of it. Let’s go!”
There was no argument between them. Floyd’s body sparked with steam and he raced into the town to get a better view of it. Krysta was shakier, but followed after him. Terrill ran into the town as well, taking stock of what had occurred while they had been sequestered inside the sanctuary. The shadow above him showed Walter and Torry flying upwards, towards the steeple of the church, and that was the first thing that he took notice of: the steeple was gone, bell tower and all ripped apart by cannon fire. Other, similar spots of smoke dotted the townscape, and Terrill found his fist clenching. The sole bit of solace was that the places where the water had been frozen before were now running clearly, feeding the life of this fishing town.
“There’s a Valordan ship coming in from the coast!” Walter shouted down when Terrill finished approaching the church. He and Torry kept their gazes seaward, but followed him as he ran for the main street. The river had been abandoned, the people fleeing from their daily work. Children were screaming, and before Terrill could exit, he saw a contingent of troops running for the harbor, bedecked in Invaria’s coat of arms.
“Where’s the general?” one was shouting, showing themselves in disarray.
“No one can find him, sir!”
“He said he was heading for the sanctuary, but…” A waved hand indicated the destruction left in the fiery wake. Light shined from a side street, honeycombs stretching upwards to indicate Krysta’s efforts. Another cannon fired, and Terrill watched the trajectory. It should have just bowled into the soldiers that were marshalling, but as it seemed about to, a hazardous wind picked up, whipping it across town and into a residence. Terrill growled under his breath.
The soldiers ducked for cover, but it did nothing when they realized they were not the intended target. Without their general, however, they were lost. Terrill would have felt guilty, if he wasn’t certain that Warren would have abandoned them all the same even if he had lived. At least Floyd had managed to see the blast, his steam emanating from the house where the cannonball had struck while he darted out, two civilians in hand and suffering from whiplash.
“I don’t think Valorda’s the one responsible for where those cannonballs are going!” Terrill shouted to the duo above him. Torry had a more pressing observation to deliver.
“The ice floes! Terrill, the ice floes are disappearing!” she shouted, only to snap upwards to another firing cannonball. It was aiming for the top of the church, the duo having been spotted now. The soldiers watched in horrified awe, but Torry stood up straight. “Do you mind? Water Lock!” As Warren had displayed to them, Torry faced the cannonball, and from her hands rivulets of water emerged, wrapping themselves around the projectile, holding it in place and preventing it from traveling any further while its surface froze up. Once it was done, the object fell to the ground, where it cratered the road. “Wow, that was tremendously easy. Guess the Lifeblood does amplify magic…”
“The power of the Blessed…” Walter said, a grin upon his face that would have scared Terrill had he not heard the rush of wind. Torry was considered a threat now by the one lobbing cannon fire their way. “Terrill, leave the stopping of the Valordan fire to Torry. We need a ship out of here right now. This is a war on two fronts.”
“Yeah. Go.” Those were the only words Terrill had time for. The second he spoke them, a jet of wind sent a shadow racing overhead, and Terrill looked to Torry. Despite being spread across altitudes, they each acted in concert, pooling together their earth magic and sending a giant slab upwards.
Winifred slammed into the slab, failing to reach Torry. Said shield crumbled, but Torry was already gone, running off for another vantage point to block the now unaided cannon fire near the front of town. Terrill put his back to her, swiping his sword through the air as he faced the Fiend that had tried to interfere. She dusted herself off, glaring, as the soldiers gathered on the street began to mutter amongst themselves.
“Isn’t that…isn’t that the fugitive General Warren was after?”
“He was in Sheeris, after all?” another called. Terrill frowned. He didn’t need this right now, not with Sheeris in chaos and the callous foe in front of him. “Should we…?”
“Get the hell out of here!” Terrill barked, making each soldier jump. The whizzing of another shot punctured the air, but Torry had shot an arrow into it, exploding the offending projectile in midair. They were safe for now. “You’re soldiers, so protect your town and its people! Do your duty to your country, not your general!”
Terrill’s call was emphasized by Winifred making her strike. She forewent her long-range gusts and instead punched straight at Terrill’s face with the whirling cyclone around her fist. Terrill blocked, the attack sending him skidding back, but drawing a grin out of him. It unsettled his opponent, even more when the soldiers appeared to see that he was fighting a dangerous foe.
They chose to do their duties.
“Men, our general is missing in action, so I’ll be taking command!” a soldier called, his voice booming over the road. Each man there snapped to attention. “Half you go down to the port and prepare a ship to fire back. We are Invaria, the greatest naval might in the world. The rest of you, see to the townspeople!”
“What of the general’s ship, sir?”
“Holding the line is more important. If he’s jumped ship, he’ll have to let it go down!” the new commander ordered. He had earned their trust, and the army split itself up into the two needed factions.
Terrill stopped splitting his own attentions.
“Stone Fist!” The call of the spell invigorated his magic, causing the stones to race up his free arm which he used to clock Winifred in the face. She went flying back, spinning around to correct her course. Her feet landed against the church, and with her propulsion of wind, she ripped away the side to launch for him. Screams from within the building indicated those inside, now pouring onto the icy street.
“Talon Gale!” Her move was unexpected, Winifred flipping around in midair to bring her foot crashing in Terrill’s direction. He deflected the blow, spinning his sword to throw her off before he jabbed forward. She knocked the attack aside to elbow him in the face, driving them apart. The cannon fire sounded quieter now, no longer striking the inner town without Winifred’s interference. She straightened, her look of disdain more evident than ever in the frozen sun. “So, Warren’s dead. Was it you, or the old man?”
“You seem so broken up about it.” Winifred scoffed at the facetious observation. “Of course, you seem to spend most of your time going around killing your own comrades. I’m starting to think it’s personal with them. Does it have to do with this Eric?”
The flash of her eyes was the only warning Terrill got, a razor wind slicing at his cheek. It wasn’t the black wind, but was just as violent. He had hit a nerve, and she knew she had betrayed her collected demeanor. “How I deal with my comrades is none of your concern, Terrill. Your only concern should be the fact Sheeris and all of Adversa will burn in the fires of war.”
“Oh, I’m definitely concerned about that, but that doesn’t mean I can’t see right through you!” Terrill stomped the ground, spires that grew increasingly larger aiming to pierce her. As expected, she blew them apart with a rough gale the ripped the rooves off of some houses. In that harrowing wind, Terrill ran forward, swinging his sword around to find it blocked by a pocket of wind. Locked in place, Terrill stared deep into the Fiend’s eyes, probing the depths of her emotions that had started to waver since he mentioned the name of the man he didn’t know.
It was regret.
“You don’t know me. You don’t know any of us!” Her leg whipped out, striking his side and blowing him down the street with the force of wind. His feet tore up stone and the ice soon sent him tumbling to the ground. Terrill didn’t miss a beat, slapping his hand down and focusing on the spires he’d left behind. From them, a pillar of stone bashed into her, though she retained her grace. The cries in the city and the firing of cannons faded to a dull ringing while Terrill stood to face her. “If I were you, I would worry more about my own companions, causing just as much destruction across Adversa as you are. I’m sure Lumen and Charles miss their friend oh, so much.”
Her palm fired a thrust of air. Terrill lifted the earth under his feet, avoiding the wind that cracked and shattered his stepping stone before it continued on to the harbor, where a soldier was knocked into the waters. The look back at them showed one of the Invarian ships moving, while some soldiers attempted to swing from the general’s abandoned ship aboard the attacking Valordan one. Terrill looked away when his feet touched the ground, sliding across it to reach Winifred and meet her with an uppercut.
“You’re right, I don’t know you, Winifred.” Terrill pushed against her pocket of wind, hoping to sever it in two, but she increased the hurricane around them. Wood broke off houses, and smoke traveled high into the air from either the assault or the chimneys left abandoned. Neither side relented. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t see your pain. So, what was it? What made you so damn bitter?!”
“Get out of my head, Terrill Jacobs!” Her other hand flew out, and Terrill met it with his stone fist, the two clashing until they were blown apart from the collision. Terrill hit the ground, rolling down the street to the port. In the skies above, it was beginning to snow again, yet the water in the bay looked cleaner than it had when they’d arrived. “You talk about pain and regret like it’s something that can be erased. Well, it can’t. This war can’t be stopped by one pitiful human, and it will give rise to a Shadow that will eat everything away until all of us are just the same!”
“What? Fiends like you?! I’ll never let that happen!”
“That’s childish!” Winifred’s lance formed, and Terrill held his blade to bear. It wouldn’t be enough to hold against her attack this time. He could figure that much. So, he looked back, thinking of how to make a run for it and reach Walter, the one piloting the Invarian ship. “The only thing to take away regrets and stop wars without mass casualties is nothing short of a miracle! Those only exist in fairy tales! The stuff of legends! Because even miracles always have a price to pay!”
Terrill’s hand loosened on his sword, her words penetrating through his instincts that told him to defend. Legends. Fairy tales. Miracles. And something that spoke of her own pain and regret. It wasn’t mindless rambling born from anger, but something that felt very pointed.
I came here of my own volition.
Terrill’s eyes widened, all of the woman’s heinous actions outside her scope as a Fiend beginning to make sense. “Winifred, are you…helping us?”
It was a fraction of a second, but Terrill saw her movements hitch up for that fraction, her lips wavering between a smirk and a scowl. Then, she fired the lance.
She’d fired it a fraction of a second too late.
A bundle of steam came roaring out of one of the alleyways, kicking into the woman’s face with flaming fury and sending her flying. The lance missed its mark, ascending harmlessly into the air. Floyd rolled on the pavement, and from another alleyway, Krysta emerged, joining to Terrill’s side. Of course, Winifred collected herself in moments, but Terrill chuckled.
“Looks like we have a new destination, guys. I think it’s high time we free the Lifeblood of Wind on Gladius while we’re at it. In the Wind Fortress.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Floyd said, twirling his daggers around before holding one out at Winifred. “You and Krysta get to the ship with Walter and get going. I’ll hold her here.”
“We’re not leaving people behind, Floyd,” Krysta said, pushing Terrill behind her in case Winifred decided to strike again. The fight seemed to have left the Fiend, though, the woman looking bored with the newest proceedings. “Remember what we said? We’re in this together. So, we’ll do this together.”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” Floyd insisted. With a flick of his dagger, he sent a fireball to Winifred, warning her off before looking back to his friends. “This is a war on two fronts. The one I helped cause in Invaria, and the need to free the Lifeblood of Wind. Invaria’s after the Wind Fortress, too, so you need to find it. I’ll hold off Miss Windy over here and do my part. I’ll be damned if I let this war get any bigger than it is.”
It was a magnanimous offer, especially now that Winifred didn’t look happy about the redhead almost searing her face. Floyd was insistent, though, and Terrill could see why. He, too, held regret over his actions in Invaria, and this was the only way he could help. Terrill didn’t care for all of them to split, but knew it was the best course. He would leave things in Sheeris to Floyd.
They were needed on Gladius.
“Kick her ass.”
“That’s not happening!” Terrill wasn’t sure if it was the strings of darkness taking hold of her again, or a more personal grudge exuding from Winifred, but she looked livid. Terrill was only willing to spare her a single glare, though. Even her ability for speech fell away as she lunged for the pair, her eyes zeroing on Krysta.
Winifred’s hands became like claws, whirring and chopping at the air while she angled for them. In a flash, Floyd darted between, his burning blades intercepting her and holding her off. She jumped back, grimacing at the burn that went up her hands before she shook it off.
“Go, now! Get to Gladius!”
“Terrill Jacobs!” Winifred shouted, her wind whirling around her with force. The soldiers even remotely near were bowled over by the gusts, while Floyd was forced to cross his arms to weather the blow. Terrill gave the woman a single look, and she dropped all pretense of rage towards him, or of the wicked deeds she’d been performing. He didn’t stop moving, but he knew, for the first time, they were speaking honestly to one another. “You won’t be able to. The battlefield is always stained with blood. You can’t save them. You can’t stop the Shadow.”
“No, but I can try. Unlike you, I’m not alone,” Terrill said. He held a fist out, making a promise to both Floyd and Winifred. “So, let’s meet on the battlefield. You’ll see a miracle. I’ll save you then. All of you!”
If Winifred had taken it to heart, he didn’t know, but he knew she’d keep that promise. Floyd, too, nodded in acceptance of it, their rendezvous set for when their next task was complete. To hold her off, the boy plunged his hand down, and with it created a wall of flame and steam that puffed down Sheeris’s main road.
“For now, I’ll kick you out of here, on my honor as Floyd Margrove, ambassador of Serotin and creator of Time Magic!” On his final words, an explosion erupted, buoyed by Winifred’s storms, concealing them in smoke.
The reaction garnered a response from all sides, including the Valordan ship, who ceased firing in surprise. The Invarians had stumbled, feeling the ground shake, but Terrill kept Krysta’s hand in his as they ran, taking advantage of the confusion. On the Valordan boat, the sailors were crying out, trying to figure out who fired the shot that lit an inferno upon the village. It took until the duo had run onto the docks for anyone to notice they were near, or that they were approaching the sole moving ship in the harbor.
“The Invarian vessel is preparing to flee. Prime all cannons upon and fire when ready. If need be, prepare pursuit. The rest of the town will not be difficult to take should the ship fall. We will have control of the navy yet!” called the captain aboard Valorda’s ship. His men, not as seasoned as the Invarian officers on the water, readied their volley.
Terrill and Krysta reached the end of the pier, and with a leap, they vaulted over to the side of the drifting Invarian ship. There had been a scuffle upon it, the only remaining man atop the helm being Walter, staring out over the horizon. With a groan, Terrill pulled himself and Krysta to the deck as the first cannon fired.
Exhausted, but unrelenting, Krysta flung her barrier up. The cannonball slammed into it, knocking the ship further towards the exit of the bay. The chunks of ice resting in the water began to part, just as Torry had suggested, allowing them permission to leave the deadly port they were cordoned in. Thinking on that, Terrill wondered what had happened to the girl, and from the way Krysta was looking around, she did, too. Walter couldn’t be any less concerned.
“Where’s our destination, Terrill?”
“Gladius! As near to the O’Della Canyon as you can get. Where’s Torry?” A shake of Walter’s head communicated that he hadn’t seen her.
The shot of another cannon sounded, and Terrill turned in the Valordans’ direction to see the cannon itself shoot backward, yet move as if in slow motion. At the same time, ice cracked and formed up the sides of the ship and all others that remained bobbing in the harbor, while a wave tilted it to prevent them from firing any further. It left them untouched. With this, Terrill turned with Krysta back to the port, finding Torry and Floyd back-to-back, protecting the Invarian soldiers and holding off an amused Winifred.
“I’m staying here!” Torry shouted from the harbor, careful to create further waves to rescue the Valordan sailors that fell off their ship. “If the Lifeblood is free, then we need to study what’s changed so we can understand what’s going on with them. If we can restore Invaria’s naval defenses to full, we’re one step closer. Now you just need to remove the reason for them to fight down south!”
“Count on us, Terrill! We’re the greatest students at the Academy! And like you said, we’ll meet again, soon.” Terrill grinned, holding his fist out, accepting their will to resolve the war on this end.
“On the battlefield!”
Terrill flicked his eyes to Winifred, one last look of promise to her, before he turned away and felt the wind carry them past the ice floes, far past their pursuers’ gazes. Standing side by side with Krysta and Walter, he faced forward, listening only to the explosion at Sheeris’s port and holding fast to his belief in Torry and Floyd.
The three sailed on for Gladius, and the Wind Fortress that awaited them.