The cold surprise that at first had paralyzed Silas began to ignite like a flame in the middle of his chest and then spread throughout the rest of his body as the wizard continued to speak.

“Resisting in pointless,” Eldrin told him when he noticed that the boy did not move away from the entrance of the small cave. “If I haven't blown you up yet, it's because I pity creatures as weak as you. It would be a waste of power. Besides, I consider myself a righteous person. You have protected my Lady when she could not defend herself. As a reward, I will let you live.”

But Silas didn't move, and clenched his fists until he dug his own nails into his palms, which was also a way to control the rising tremor he was trying to hide. He knew that against the wizard he could do nothing, but he needed to buy some time to think of an escape plan.

Though from the back of his head a voice emerged telling him that his journey with Olivia was over, that he had better save his own life. Silas ignored it, and instead focused on the dark eyes of the wizard who watched him impassively as if there was nothing in front of him but an annoying insect about to be crushed.

“I don't know why you are acting outraged, when we are both on the same side,” Eldrin added.

Silas could not let that offense pass.

“On the same side as a wizard? Never!”

The wizard's eyebrows rose.

“Why did you leave the mountains? I don't think it was just to get to know our kingdom. There is no place for you here. If you have no hatred for humans, then you are not a true chimera.”

“Shut up, you scum!”

“Go back to your race, and deliver the news to them. In a short time, humans, except for the chosen ones, will be decimated and annihilated as you were. Lady Daephennya will see to it...”

“I want nothing to do with the damned elves! They used the humans to kill us, because they couldn't do it themselves! It is you who is pathetic! When Daephennya is done using you, she will wipe you out just like the rest!”

“Your mind is too simple. I have given you the opportunity. Now move.”

As he said that, Eldrin waved his hand, and Silas was engulfed by a whirlwind that suddenly lifted him up and threw him hard against the ground. His chest was the first to hit the ground, causing the air to leave his lungs.

It took him a moment to sit up due to the trembling of his arms, which were barely able to bear the weight of his own weight. The fall had blurred his vision, and it took him a moment to recognize Olivia's floating body that slowly emerged from the cave while he was guided by Eldrin's movements while retreating.

“I never understood the interest of my peers in such pathetic creatures as you,” the wizard said without looking at him. “Magical creatures, yes, but your power does not compare with the rest. Even hybrids must be stronger than you. The only thing I criticize about my ancestors is that they wasted their time hunting such insignificant creatures when there was another superior power to aspire to.”

Silas gritted his teeth as he forced his legs to stand up.

“I may be insignificant, but so are you, and you will realize it when it is too late.”

Eldrin pulled a sharp gesture, and Silas found himself being dragged backwards as if several hands were holding him by his limbs. As he crashed against one of the rocks, a searing stab pierced him from the center of his back as if he had been stabbed with a sword.

Stunned by the pain, he did not notice until too late that Eldrin had reached up to wrap a hand around his neck, preventing Silas from breathing.

“Although I must confess...” said the wizard, “that I always felt curious to know what my ancestors found once they decided to mutilate the chimeras' bodies to study your filthy insides.”

Eldrin's hand closed even tighter around Silas' neck, and as he jerked trying to free himself he watched helplessly as the wizard's other hand pulled back and in his palm formed a small sphere of a kind of evil light that seemed to be gathering strength to slam into the center of his chest.

Despite the terror he felt at what he knew was his imminent death, Silas looked away from the wizard's reddened eyes and toward Olivia's unconscious body lying on the grass.

For a moment it seemed as if time had stood still as he watched her, taking comfort in the thought that it would be her face the last thing he would see before he departed to the afterlife.

If only she would wake up so that he could sink into those eyes as blue as the sea which he hadn't yet gotten the chance to know.

But that felt like a selfish wish, and he didn't want Olivia to see him die.

Instead, he remembered the words of his grandfather, not long before his death, as the sun was setting over the mountains. The old chimera had told him that he did not feel fear of death but a deep peace, as if, at the end of it all, one would find the calm he was always looking for.

“My little one, now it is time to rest, to return to the very origin from which we all come,” he whispered caressing Sila's head. Unlike the rest of the elders, he was the only one who adopted his first form to keep his grandson from feeling lonely. “I was granted a long life. It is true that the war took away many of our kind, but because of them I survived and returned to my pack. I was even able to watch my children grow up and find their own way. It is time to close my cycle. Yours is just beginning.”

“I don't want you to leave,” Silas had told him with a broken voice, clinging to his body which was gradually losing its warmth.

“I won't go far, you'll see,” even at that moment his grandfather's kind eyes reflected the very brightness of the sun. “When you hear the wind whistling through the abysses, when the moon's glow rests on the mountain peaks, when you hear the whisper of a secret river, I will be there, being part of everything that surrounds you.”

“Yet...”

“It is your turn to honor the time you have been given in this world. Don't despise this gift, don't pity me, little one, but, above all don't give up. Embrace life, hold on to every moment, fight with all your might, love without restraint, and always seek the truth in your heart! Let the rest of the world know that you will not surrender your right to exist just like that! I want you to live as long as you can, and when your time comes you can repeat these same words to those who come after you. Promise me that you will live!”

“I promise,” Silas had answered him in a whisper shortly before he saw his grandfather's body dissolve into the mountain air.

“I promise,” he now whispered as he watched the small sphere of light Eldrin held in his hand come crashing down on him.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

At that moment, something inside his chest exploded. Out of his mouth came a shriek that seemed to cut the sky like the boom of thunder. His left arm, which up to that moment, like his right, had been trying unsuccessfully to contain the strength of his adversary, seemed to come to life of its own accord, and after gathering momentum a deadly hiss cut through the air as his fingers, now turned into long, curved claws that flashed in the sunlight dug into the wizard's face, and upon contact with the skin opened a great wound of such magnitude that it made the blood splatter with such force that for a moment Silas' eyes were blinded by the red viscous substance.

As he quickly wiped his eyes with his other hand, he listened in disbelief to the screams of the wizard rolling on the grass.

He had done it. He, a powerless chimera, had hurt a wizard.

When he regained his vision, the first thing he saw were the sharp claws from which blood was still dripping though not his own. His hand was now a hairy, muscular structure. The palm of the paw was broad and thick, of a rough, dark skin.

During his stay at Shadowrock Castle, the fox-transformed chimera had ventured into the forest area near the mountains to observe a family of bears in the hope of transforming into one. He never came close to achieving it, and now, out of nowhere, appeared that lethal weapon when he thought all was lost.

But, in truth, only his left hand had been transformed. The rest of his body remained unchanged.

After the unexpected attack, the wizard tried without much success to heal himself with a seal that could do little for the huge hole caused by the claw that had disfigured half of his face. Without wasting time, Silas jumped on him launching another powerful blow, but this time Eldrin reacted in time to invoke a shield that caused the powerful claws of the chimera to suffer an intense pain that struck his body forcing him to retreat.

Silas tried to relieve his frustration with another shriek before attacking again, but as close as he came to hitting his target with lethal accuracy, it was not enough. The wizard, though with one missing eye, soon recovered from his own pain. He stepped forward towards the chimera, and again fired a furious shockwave that sent Silas bursting back into a rock. He saw more drops of blood splatter around him, but this one to his regret was his own, and he couldn't tell where it had spurted from as his entire body was overcome with spasms of pain.

Without making himself wait, the wizard lifted him up on the ground and dropped him again among the rocks. Silas flailed his limbs in all directions trying to attenuate the fall, but the torture was so great that there came a point where he could only give up. Even if the rest of his body had been transformed at that moment, and no matter how much fury overcame the physical pain, it was impossible for a chimera to overcome the power of a wizard.

Silas had not lived long enough.

He could not go in peace like his grandfather.

He had not kept his promise.

But at least he had fought to his last breath.

Again he felt his numb body peel away from the stone to rise again.

That was the final onslaught.

It must have been close to noon. The sky was clear, without a single cloud to mitigate the indifferent rays of a scorching sun, mute witness of his abrupt ending. However, a darkness seemed to invade the firmament and among the shadows Silas managed to glimpse the first stars that, like small explosions, twinkled in the distance as if they were greeting him, as if they were welcoming him.

Here ended the life of the chimera Silas, named this way by the only person who had truly recognized him as an equal, the only one he knew would be sad for him, although he did not want her to be sad, much less alone.

“When you hear the wind whistling through the abysses, when the moon's glow rests on the mountain peaks, when you hear the whisper of a secret river, I will be there...” Silas whispered for Olivia even though he could no longer see her from where he stood.

A new journey began towards the origin where all beings on earth came from. Humans, elves, giants, elementals, hybrids, sirens and chimeras. Maybe even witches. Perhaps there, someday, at the end of time, he would be able to meet her again.

At least, that last thought comforted him.

“See you later, Olivia.”

With those words, Silas closed his eyes and accepted his fate with the same humility as his grandfather.

The darkness finally enveloped him, though it no longer seemed frightening or lonely.

He was returning to the source of life.

Although he did not understand why, just as he was ready to cross, the dark firmament above him cracked.

A bolt of lightning pierced the blackness. The distant stars faded, and returned to the depths from which they had emerged.

Silas, surprised, opened his eyes while hearing a cry that resounded with the same force of the thunder that had preceded it.

It was a woman's voice, powerful and resolved:

“Eldrin Caedos!”

The chimera did not understand why at that moment his body was slowly returning to the ground as that old woman with a haggard face, but a furious look approached them galloping on horseback.

“Rovenna Astra,” said the wizard calmly. “I thought you were supposed to be nearby, but I didn't think you could stand the journey...”

“By the authority of the Council...!” the newcomer started to say, but cut herself off when she saw the wizard's pitiful state.

“The Council!” mocked the wizard. “I no longer answer to you or even the Conclave!”

“You are insane!” the woman looked confused in front of his unrecognizable face covered in blood. “Surrender now, and perhaps you will be able to keep your life.”

The wizard spat on the ground.

“We've known each other for a lifetime, Rovenna. You know very well that's not an option for me.”

The wizard Rovenna stopped her horse a short distance from Eldrin so that her figure cast an elongated shadow over him.

Disoriented from so many jolts, Silas crawled among the stones, and set about looking for Olivia. Finding her, he crawled like a snake across the ground until he reached her while the two wizards continued to talk.

“Despite everything you did in the past,” Rovenna said in a voice laden with pain, “I never imagined it would come to this... Your name has been tarnished forever, and all for what?”

Despite the great wound on his face, Eldrin made a grimace that tried to look as close to a smile as possible.

“A new order is about to begin, Rovenna, and the power of the Council is nothing in the face of what is to come.”

“And what does Olivia of Shadowrock have to do with any of this?”

The wizard let out a laugh that was cut short by a wince.

“If I were the Master Arcanist, I would know the truth by now, but I see that you couldn't even get the information out of the pathetic Count who has failed to be even a shadow of his predecessor. No matter how hard you tried to hide it, your compassion has always been your worst weakness.”

Rovenna's voice hardened even more.

“My compassion has a limit, and if you are so bothered by that, you will be happy to know that I reserve nothing for you.”

Saying this, Rovenna stretched out her arms, and a dark orb emanated from her hands.

“Now you need to be reminded of why I succeeded in taking away the position you wanted so badly so that you will never forget it again.”

Eldrin raised his hands, creating a sphere of similar characteristics.

“If you only knew who I serve, you would understand that it is of no value to me.”

Rovenna grimaced.

“I only regret that my victory will not be fair this time...”

“Don't be sorry, surely my Lady will reward me with a new eye.”

“Your Lady?”

Eldrin took that moment to throw the sphere straight at her, but the Master Arcanist reacted in time to stop the attack with her own. When they collided, both spheres caused a shockwave that made Silas cling tightly to Olivia's unconscious body trying to prevent both of them from being thrown away.

However, that was not the case, because, to his surprise, Eldrin had taken the safeguard of protecting them with a shield.

The air was filled with a series of shimmering, quivering lines, like tiny lightning bolts that zigzagged like snakes. Around the two duelers a smoking circle had formed that had swept through the vegetation.

“Coward as a chimera,” he snarled. “Be thankful I'm busy and can't kill you right now.”

“Chimera...” Rovenna finally looked at him. “Silas?”

Still holding Olivia close, Silas nodded. He didn't know how that woman had come to know his name, but he decided that maybe that was a good sign. At least she had gotten Eldrin off his back.

“Run away! Get to safety!” Rovenna shouted at him.

“Not without Olivia!” Silas replied.

Rovenna let out a sigh of exasperation.

“Eldrin won't hurt her! Save your life! You're in the human realm, by the Nymph!”

“No!” in order to release Olivia they would have to kill him first.

Eldrin took advantage of Rovenna's distraction to launch another attack that she avoided with a dense shield, although from his position on the ground Silas was able to notice that the attacks were taking their toll on the woman's exhausted body.

Barely with time to recover from the attack, Rovenna took a deep breath and, with a cold and defiant voice, addressed the other wizard:

“Today, Eldrin, you decide your fate,” she said, firm, as the air around her crackled with golden lightning. “And like so many other times, your stubborn habit of underestimating me will be your undoing.”