Shadow Rising -- chapter one

Chapter One – destiny

I panted breathlessly as I ran atop the houses of Marylebone, a brown leather bag swinging in my hand. Was I far enough away yet?

I skidded to a halt, trying to keep my balance on the edge of a building. It had rained last night and water puddles were scattered everywhere, making the way dangerous. A chilly evening breeze mixed with the yowl of a cat forced me to hold my breath and stand still and listen closely, trying to pick out the sounds of footsteps following.

Nothing.

I breathed out and grinned. I pulled the hood of my cloak farther over my face and tucked the bag under my arm. Instead of taking the wooden ramp down to the next roof, I jumped. The wood would be too slippery anyways. Crouching and listening, I made sure no one was in sight as I bounded across the rooftop. Soon I was at the end of the street, if that was what you could call it, and great, tall buildings loomed over my head.

I ducked behind some crates as an Air Ferry pulled in. Three wizards from Ravenwood got off, talking loudly to themselves. As soon as they passed, another wizard brushed by them quietly and climbed aboard the ferry. Now was my chance.

Silent as night, I crept out from behind the crates and secured a handhold on the edge of the ferry. Neither the driver nor the wizard noticed. As it lifted off with me dangling from it, I grabbed another bar directly under the ferry and clung to that while I pulled my feet up.

I held on tight and didn’t look down as the ferry traveled back to Digmoore Station. Soon the ferry was pulling into the port, the tail of my cloak just trailing the cement surface. Only once the ferry had stopped and the wizard disembarked do I drop onto my back on the ground. I slithered out from under the ferry to the back and snuck along the middle aisle between the ferry I rode (that had come from Chelsea Court) and the ferry that went to Hyde Park.

When the policeman passed on his usual, circling nightwatch, I sprinted over to Tracy Castleton, the Air Ferry ticketmaster, and reached out my hand. She gave me a passive look, shook my hand, and I passed her a gold coin and a pair of opal earrings.

I nodded, then I left. I walked down Digmoore Station towards the elevator down to Regents Square, passing happy couples talking and laughing.

I wish I could have that again...

Shaking away the feeling, I trotted down the stairwell that you didn’t see unless you were looking, and that was despite the enormous sign that was plastered against the brick wall proclaiming AIR DHALES HIDEAWAY. It was on my left, about twenty feet from the elevator. I opened the door and smiled at the hunched over, retired Chimney Sweeper. “Hello there, Croaky!”

He looked up from the deck of spell cards he was shuffling. When someone did manage to find their way down here, he offered spell cards to them at fair prices. He smiled in return and waved.

As a young toad, he had been in an accident with another one of the Chimney Sweepers in the Iron Works and had lost the ability to talk -- but he could still croak for that matter.

I looked over at Howard Angleton passively. “Hello, Howard,” I greeted stiffly.

He glanced up. “Suri,” he acknowledged. “Did you get the parts?” I dropped the leather bag with a heavy thud on the table where he was tending a miniature Cat Thug pet. It was mewing pathetically. Rightening and wiping his paws on an oily apron, Howard complained, “Mister Sam got his ear caught on one of my tools. Again. If he does this one more time I’m gonna have to lower the price on him.”

“Speaking of lowering prices, I’ve done everything you’ve asked. You let me have him now,” I snapped.

“Oh very well, very well. He’s on the back table. Don’t know why you like him so much. Just a broken piece of trash he is.”

“Is not,” I muttered under my breath. “You can still use the broken pieces.”

Slumped against the wall on a table was a terribly broken Brass Golem pet. Even when you simply poked it a piece would fall off.

Being extremely gentle, I lifted an arm.

The shoulder joint crumbled and the entire arm detached.

“Just as I thought. Can’t fix it,” I mumbled.

“My sentiments exactly,” Howard commented.

Pretending not to have heard him, I began to take the golem apart -- one spring, cog, and or other part, at a time. Soon a good sized pile of mechanical parts sat to my left. The wooden and brass structure was to my right. I shrugged off my cloak and tied my black hair back in a ponytail.

Time to really get to work.

I started by figuring out how to fit the structure properly. It was poorly made in the first place, so I knew I had to get it right.

Once that was done, I sorted the smaller parts into piles that would go into the legs and arms, then did the same for the body and head. Finally I started attaching those together.

Soon a new Brass Golem was lying on the table before me. Satisfied that everything was in place, I gently laid the interior into the shell and closed it. Carefully standing it upright, I inserted the key into its back and wound it fifteen times.

The golem straightened and waved its head around. It looked at me, Howard, Croaky, then at the poster on the wall. Howard and Croaky looked up and gaped at it. Howard came over for examination.

“Wow. The… the structure is just… and the cogs here at the joints are… and the pins in the head and heart… how did you do it?”

I shrugged. “After looking at some failures and some working ones I found that the main difference was in the wires that led to the right side of the heart. In the working ones they were wound together, in the failures a certain someone forgot to connect them.” I glared at Howard and he glared back. “Also, the pins in the joints were too tight, that’s why they would freeze up or rust faster. But if they were too loose the golem would crumble. So they have to be right in between.”

“Genius,” Howard praised.

I gave him a sarcastic smile, then took an oily rag and lifted the golem’s right foot. I smeared away Howard’s signature -- H.A. Works -- then took a tiny chisel and engraved on the foot: S. Nr.

That stood for Suri Nightriver, my name.

Howard patted my back and was about to say something when there came a knock on the door. “Suri…” he whispered.

“Yeah, I know.” I set down the chisel and jumped over the counter.

I ducked under it as I heard Howard say cheerily, “Hello young wizards! I am overwhelmed to see you have stumbled your way down here. Would you care to look at these one of a kind pets? Or perhaps you have a training point or two to spend on a new spell card from my friend, Croaky, over there.”

“Oh, uh, no thanks. We were looking for the cats. For Zeke.” We -- there must be two of them.

“Well, sorry my friend, but I’m afraid I don’t know where the cats are. Perhaps you can ask Tracy, the ticket lady. She’s up to all the latest gossip, if that would help,” replied Howard. Only Croaky and I caught the slight sneer in his voice. He and Tracy had had a rivalry going on for ages. Something about a missing hat and gear wrench.

“Oh, well thank you!” said the wizard. Then there were the sounds of feet moving, a door opening, then closing...

At last I heard, “You can come out now.” I stood up and rubbed my neck. It had been bent at an odd angle while under the counter.

“Who?” I asked.

“A Pyromancer and a Theurgist. Both level twenty-seven.”

I nodded.

“Suri, you really should go back. Everyone you knew is probably gone by now.”

The statement startled me. “No! You know why I left. Don’t try to send me back.”

“Yes, and it wasn’t your fault.”

“Perhaps not, but I know all about it. I know why those things happened.”

“That doesn’t make it your fault. You were trapped because he was doing it all for you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Or so he thought.”

“Look Suri–”

“No. Just stop. It brings back bitter memories that I don’t want to think about.” I grabbed my cloak off the chair where I had been working earlier. “I’m going for a walk.”

“Are you sure? It’s very dark outside.” Howard sounded worried. He always sounded worried, it was one of the reasons why we didn’t particularly get along. I had to admit that he was a good guy, and he had done his best in raising me, but there were some things I just couldn’t view him as, and a parental guardian was one of them.

“Even better.” I slung the cloak over my shoulders and stormed out of the room. I made sure no one was looking before I darted out from the stairwell and over to the Air Ferry to Hyde Park. I pressed myself along the brick wall as a wizard dressed in bright red and orange passed within six inches of me and climbed aboard the ferry. Yet again attaching myself to the end, I took less care in holding on as my mind wandered to three years ago…

My mother brushes a strand of hair out of my face and smiles down on me, the sunset creating a glow behind her golden head like she has a halo. She points to the east over my shoulder. “You see that over there?”

I turn to see the dark clouds. I smile. “Will it be big?”

“You tell me.”

I squint at the clouds. “Hmmm, lots of rain, not much wind or lightning. Just a normal rainstorm.”

My mother smiles. “Guess this time tomorrow we’ll be inside watching the rain make patterns on the window. Your father will have to walk home in the rain.”

“Can’t he just teleport?”

“It’s only two feet outside Ravenwood, he can walk. Waste of magic, teleporting is, if you can walk there just as easy.”

We both laugh.

I’m pulled out of the memory as the ferry lurched to a halt. My grip tightened, but I’m nowhere near about to fall. I dropped silently onto the docking port where the ferry hovered. I snuck behind some crates and waited until the wizard was out of sight before I go the edge of the building.

It is dark; no moon or stars. I scraped my hand along the edge of the building until I found a rope. I grabbed it and slithered down about eight feet onto a wooden plank. I followed the plank between the buildings, completely out of sight. I tread slowly, though, since the wood was wet from last night’s rain.

The plank bridge continued for about twenty feet until I came to the edge of Marylebone -- the edge of the whole world. The clouds that covered the sky were less here and offered a little bit of gray light. I sat down and let my feet dangle over the precipice.

All of that, the rope and the planks, I had placed here just so I could get to this spot. It was a place no one knew about, and had taken me forever to build. Do you know how hard it is to sneak wooden planks as tall two grown men on to a ferry and then off again without being noticed? Exactly, very hard. I guess I couldn’t bribed the ferry man, but there was always the chance someone else would board when I did.

I reached into my cloak and pulled out a picture of my family. I was six when this was taken. My mom’s hair was much longer and my dad’s face had less wrinkles. We had been in Mooshu because mom had been sent to collect some regents for something or other. I had always wanted to see Mooshu and my dad insisted he come along. We were only staying in the Jade Palace area.

It was probably the best day of my life, but I should know better than anyone that following a good day comes a bad one. It doesn’t happen the very next day, but perhaps a week or a month later.

In my case it was six years.

My hands fell to my lap as another memory popped into my mind, of my mom and me at the kitchen table waiting for father to get home.

“You’re not going to eat the asparagus?”

“It’s nasty mommy!”

“Nonsense. You’d regret it more by not eating it.”

“Nuh uh!”

She sighs exasperatedly. “You’re so much like your father. Likes and looks.”

I frown. “But dad’s got lot’s of wrinkles!”

My mother laughs. “But you have the same hair. Black as a raven. Only you have long hair. Silky smooth too.”

“But I want to look like you! You’re so beautiful, mommy!”

She smiles and blushes. “Well in that case… I’d say you have my eyes. Everyone’s had the same eyes in my family for generations. That brilliant dark blue.”

Suddenly the photograph was ripped from my hands as a wind swept between the buildings. I stood up in an instant and tried to snatch it back. I reached out dangerously far and grabbed it, but then I was tipping forward, about to fall into space.

“Whoa!” someone yelled. The same someone grabbed my arm just as my foot slipped on the wood. I fell forward, but my foot caught a jut out from the side of the world.

I stared wide-eyed at nothingness and tried to comprehend that I had almost died. Slowly, I’m pulled back onto the wood and I leaned against the wall (or building really, whichever floats your boat), trying to catch my breath.

“You okay?” asked the wizard who had saved me.

I looked up to see the wizard who had been riding the ferry that I had hidden on. How had I not heard him following me?

“Who are you?” I asked.

He sighed. “Not even a ‘thank you’?”

I glared at him. “Fine then. Thank you absolute stranger who followed me to my secret place, and whom I am very annoyed with because of that, but since you saved my life I won’t hold a grudge. Now moving past that, who are you?”

He gave me a puzzled look, as if he didn’t actually believe that I wasn’t thankful, though actually I really was. “I’m Aeden Mythflame. Level twenty-six Pyromancer. What’s your name?”

I said nothing and don’t bother to remove my cloak hood. The less he saw of me the better.

After a moment of silence, Aeden realized he’s not getting an answer. He then asked, “What school are you in?”

“What’s with the questions?” I snapped. “Did I invite you to ask me about my life?”

He looked at me shocked, as if he did this everyday and I was the first to not answer. “Well I… anyone else I come across I usually ask them that and they answer. It’s not like it’s a secret.”

“Well it is with me.”

I turned and started walking back along the planks. I tucked the picture back inside my cloak pocket.

“Wait, I’m sorry if I offended you! I’ve never seen you in Ravenwood before.”

“That’s cause I haven’t been there in three years.” Heckhounds, why did I say that!?

I heard him stop and gasp. “Wait, what? What’d you mean you haven’t been there in three years?”

“Exactly what I say. After the Dark Epoch I left because...” Ah, Storm Lord, why was I sprouting this stuff? This was I didn’t talk to people, I could never keep my mouth shut. “Never mind, it’s none of your business so stop pestering me. Oh, and one more thing.” I turned around and glared daggers at him. I lift my finger threateningly at his chest. “If you tell anyone of this place or me I will personally cut off your hands so you can’t cast magic. And believe me, I will do it.” I tried to put all my anger into my words.

Honestly, I would never chop off someone’s hands, but I tried to give people the impression I would so they do as I say, and it usually works. On everyone but Howard and Croaky.

He froze and I turned around, scurrying up the rope.

Instead of bothering to hide on the Air Ferry I jumped right on. “Digmoore Station,” I told the driver. I put ten gold coins in an empty can beside him. “No ticket. Keep quiet ‘bout it, ok?”

He gave me a nervous smile and started the engine.

As we glided through the night, I stared off into the distance. It was my first human contact in nearly fourteen months. So if a wizard nowadays thought it normal to be so friendly and outgoing something was slightly wrong with this. I mean, what if someone was a stalker and you just freely told them everything about you?

The ferry parked and I jumped off.

The lamplights were dying so it was very dim. I stayed three steps ahead of the lamplighter and made my way back to Air Dhales Hideaway. Not even bothering to knock, I opened the door and slammed it shut. Croaky jumped and Howard glared at me.

“Trying to alert all of Marylebone are you?”

I glared right back. Not saying anything, because I was afraid that if I did speak I would say something stupid. Instead, I went to the right hand door and entered that room. Shutting it behind me, I climbed the ladder to a loft where my “room” was. I shrugged off my cloak and flopped onto the bed.

What a horrible day! I thought melodramatically.

Sitting up, I took out a book from beneath my mattress. It was my mothers’ diary. I flipped open to a dog-eared page. It was my favorite entry for many reasons.

-Eventide

There’s such a beautiful sunset outside right now. I wish she could see it, but she’s fast asleep after an exhausting day at school. Still in her tunic too. Her spell cards spread out all over the floor. Three wands. Dirty cloths. She really needs to clean this room.

It was such a perfect day today. And now the candle warmth just makes it even better. Tomorrow she has her first day in Krokotopia. I’m slightly worried; I had a lot of trouble there. But she’s growing fast. She’ll be a great wizard yet. She’s growing as powerful as her father. Oh, those two are so alike though they both hate to admit it. But whenever I tell either of them I know they are secretly pleased.

She is my nonpareil. Ah, but so shy still. Self-effacing. Haha, so many big words.

My Self-affacing Nonpareil. My Timid Treasure.

Well, it is night now. I had better get to bed for a busy day tomorrow. I think I just heard him get home. Oh, I love my family so much.

Suddenly I wasn’t so confused. It was ok again. I didn’t know why, but it was. I smiled, then I blew out the lamp, lay my head down, and fell asleep.

†††

I stand on a beach. Sapphire waves splash against the golden shore and up onto my feet. The sand dampens and its color dulls as the water hits it. The ocean travels as far as the eye can see, vanishing over the horizon in a streak of red and bronze from the setting sun.

Or is the sun rising?

But it doesn’t matter. All I feel is calm and peace. There is nothing wrong in the Spiral. No worlds collapsing. No ruins of houses. No place of despair and hopelessness. This is a place where evil cannot stick its slimy hands that bring death and destruction.

This is a place settled in the folds of time. Unmoving from the time where there was only goodness in the world.

My nose twitches and I turn my back on the spectacular ocean scene. Behind me a green mountain rises high into a dark blue sky dotted with gray-silver clouds. Rolling hills, like frozen waves, are laid down at the base and wash over to meet me at the beach.

I lift my head to look at the top of the mountain. There is that smell again. An odd smell. I know what it is, but can put no name to it. I recognize it, something I have smelled it many times.

Suddenly the ocean scene is changing, burning away like paper held up to a flame. It’s like a curtain that is hiding something, something terrible, and is now falling, revealing the truth behind what I had seen.

Buildings. Buildings everywhere, from the edge of the dark world to the top of the mountain that rose high in the sky. The sky is dark; smoke veils it like a thick quilt. Fire leaps from house to house, traveling down the mountain. But what is worse is the river of lava, slowly growing, that chases the fire. Houses are demolished in seconds; wood burns away, and stone topples and is submerged.

I try to move, but my body won’t obey me. I’m locked in someone’s embrace. Whose I don’t know, but it isn’t only that. My body... it’s like a dead weight and I can’t pull it along.

A useless body. Like being paralyzed. Everyone’s worst fear.

Suddenly someone’s words sound in my ear. The one carrying me speaks them:

“Be still my child, it is almost done, and you shall be their princess. Wouldn’t you like that? I know you would. All these people shall do your bidding. Our bidding, it was your destiny. Now you must fulfill it.”

I want to respond, but I can’t speak. I’m scared.

“Yes, I am helping you, and you shall thank me. This is your destiny.”

I awoke breathless from the dream, my skin feeling tight and sticky. I kicked off blankets and fumbled for the ladder, climbing down to the chilly floor. I heaved great breaths while leaning against the wall, trying to calm my nerves that were running a million miles and hour, and my heart beating twice that.

“It was just a dream,” I repeated to myself, lowering myself to a kneeling position and wrapping my arms around my head. “It was just a dream. It was just a dream.”

†††

The moon was bright the next day. The stars twinkled, and more wizards than ever streamed from Ravenwood. I dared not go out, but whatever was happening was beginning to nag me. I wanted to know what was going on.

“Do you know what's going on?” I asked Howard that afternoon. “I’ve been holed up in here all day and my nerves are jumping out of my skin, and all I can see though that dingy, little skylight is the moon and a bunch of posters, and I can’t read any of them and if I don’t find out what’s going on out there I’m gonna… I’m gonna…” I flailed my hands around in exasperation.

Howard, all through my rant, never looked up from the lost Magma Spider pet that he had found on the doorstep this morning. It had several broken legs, obviously a creature that had been lost for a while. He had a habit of picking up lost things... “You’re the one who’s so jumpy when you’re around people.”

“Yeah, and I also told you to keep me updated on the things that are happening around the Spiral! There have never been this many wizards at once in Marylebone!”

“Then go see for yourself and do us both a favor and get rid of all that energy somewhere else before you wreck the whole warehouse.”

Grabbing my cloak off the rack, and mumbling about the warehouse being part of Marylebone, and if I knocked it down the whole world will collapse, I gingerly climbed the stairs out into Digmoore Station.

The first thing I saw was a bunch of wizards lined up buying tickets.

The second thing was thousands of posters tacked up all over the brick walls. I quickly ripped one down and read it.

SEVEN SCHOOLS PARTY

Summer’s Eve, Chelsea Court, Marleybone

Rivalries? Grudges? Personal vendettas?

Take it all out at the 3rd annual Seven Schools Party!

Participate or watch as wizards go head to head against their rival of another school to settle arguments or vendettas through a series of contests:

POWER –vs.– SKILL & KNOWLEDGE –vs.– INTELLECT

I rolled my eyes. I had never heard of this before. Then again, this was only the third time. Guess it was super popular now. I squinted at the small print on the bottom.

Throughout the night, the teachers of each school shall be watching, and will each choose the best from their school to participate in the ultimate challenge: VITA MORT. This final battle will require all four skills listed above. The final winner of the Vita Mort duel shall receive massive experience and four training points, as well as special gear appropriate for their school.

NOTE: any fighting outside arena will result in immediate disqualification and deportation. Any illegal assistants while wizards are in combat will result in lack of magic for the rest of the night.

I sighed. Fighting. Pointless fighting.

“Hey! Saph! Over here!” I turned, glaring, as two Pyromancers, both boys, came towards me, one waving. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you, Saph!”

Still glaring, I recognized the boy who had called out as the one who had been butting into my personal business yesterday. Aeden something-or-other.

“That’s your friend?” the other asked. “When did you meet her?”

“A couple weeks ago.”

“Who’s Saph?” I asked.

“Honestly, that’s what I’m wondering,” Aeden’s friend said, smiling. “I’m Timothy, just Timothy.”

“Sapphire Waterlilly,” Aeden whispered in my head. How he can do that I have no idea. We weren’t friends or anything.

“Oh, haha,” I said, managing a grin. “He’s always doing that. Saph is my... little sister. I talk about her a lot, and he gets us confused sometimes.” I gave Aeden a sarcastic smile. “Let me reintroduce myself. I’m Suri.”

“Oh, pleased to meet you Suri,” Timothy said on top of Aeden’s, “Gosh darn it, I did it again!”

I managed a laugh, one that was totally fake and Howard would have insulted me about it, but Aeden and Timothy were so gullible they laughed along with me.

“You going to participate in the Seven Schools Party?” Aeden asked. “You’re a decent level. You could catch your teacher’s eye.”

“What school are you anyway?” asked Timothy.

“Um. Death.” Sudden memories my old school days come flooding back. “But I like all the schools, really! They’re all great!”

“That’s cool, lots of people think that way now, ever since the Dark Epoch three years ago,” replied Aeden. “It’s kinda of why this event was created. Come on, lets go sign up!” As we walked, he said, “I’m gonna fight Victoria Skyshade. Ever since she abandoned me in the Ironworks I’ve wanted to duel her.”

“What school?” asked Timothy.

“Ice. What about you?”

“That’s exciting. I want to duel Allan Stone, a Life guy who bullied my little sister, Andrea. She’s only a Novice, and started school this year too.”

“Cheap,” I muttered.

“What about you?” asked Aeden.

I shrugged. “I don’t have any personal vendettas or–” More memories. A lightning bolt, a flood, screaming people, ruined homes. “Actually, now that I think about it, I do.”

“Anyone in particular?” inquired Timothy.

“No. All I know is their last name. And the school.”

“Well that’s good. Which school?” asked Aedan.

“Storm.”

†††

The line was long, but finally we reached the sign up sheets. Aeden found Victoria and they were locked in glaring at each other, practically shooting lightning bolts from their eyes. They chose the Knowledge versus Intellect battle, as did Timothy and Allan. Allan had actually become very sheepish since he had bullied Andrea. Timothy, who was actually very modest and kind, wasn’t sure whether or not he would still fight Allan. In the end, they had switched to Knowledge versus Intellect.

Finally I stood facing Tracy. I knew she recognized me. I glared at her, and she glared back, but kept quiet. I asked her, “Is there anyone here by the last name of Thunderthorn?”

She looked over the list. “Only one. Blaze, level forty-two Diviner. Has no partner yet, want me to sign you up?”

“Yes. Suri Nightriver, level thirty-three Necromancer.”

“Want to tell me your rivalry? There are some very interesting ones going around here, I’m curious to hear yours.” She was probably waiting me for to stutter and come up with a lie, but I had it all planned out.

“Oh, the ordinary usual. Needed help fighting a boss, he left in the middle of the duel and I died, enough said. Make it... Power versus Skill.”

Tracy sighed and nodded, scribbled the duel information on a card, and handed it to a Transcended, who carried it over to the teachers who were lined up near the Air Ferry to Chelsea Court. “Watch yourself,” she quietly warned as I moved away.

“Who are you fighting?” Aeden asked when I reached them.

“Blaze Thunderthorn, Storm. It’s a duel.”

“Fun.”

We finally caught a ferry to the court and wandered around for a couple hours. Finally all the participants were signed up and the party could commence. We parted ways; I made my way over to the dueling arena while they made their way over to the puzzle arena.

Words lit up the sky, listing the duels and the dueler’s information. I was in the 222nd battle. Wandering around, concealed in my cloak, I avoided people remotely recognizable, as well as the teachers. I doubted the new Death Professor would recognize me, but Dalia Falmea might, and Cyrus Drake definitely would.

Duels came and went, the announcer calling out each in turn, and listing the information about the duelers. Most duels were between opposite schools, such as Fire and Ice and Life and Death. Each was given the reason for the rivalry if one had been told. Most duels consisted of a lot of yelling and fierce spell casting, as well as cheering from the crowd.

Finally my duel was up.

“BLAZE THUNDERTHORN, LEVEL FORTY-TWO DIVINER, VERSUS SURI NIGHTRIVER, LEVEL THIRTY-THREE NECROMANCER. RIVALRY: UNKNOWN. RELATIONS: UNKNOWN.”

Confused muttering rose from the crowd, and I could understand it because it was the sketchiest information one could give: the schools weren’t opposites and the difference between levels was extreme. With most of the other duels the levels were either the same or one to four levels apart.

I made my way through the crowd. Once they realized that this was my duel they parted for me. Blaze was already at the circle, and had taken the first spot. I take my spot across from him, and glare.

He hadn’t changed -- not one bit. He was still taller than me, with haphazard purple hair and well tanned skin. His eyes shown the familiar soft green that they had always had.

“LET THE DUELING COMMENCE!”

I put my hands on my hips. “Remember me?”

He shook his head. “I knew it was a bad idea to go for the toss up.”

“I knew it was a good idea to let my friend persuade me to come,” I added myself. Was Aedan even my friend? Here I go again, spitting out words that I didn’t mean because I was nervous. “I found you, and you’re the closest I may ever get to my revenge.”

“Look, if you gonna fight me, you may as well tell me why.”

“You father is Victor Thunderthorn, right?”

“Yes, but he died during the Dark Epoch.” Blaze was fidgeting.

“Yes. I know. How?” I cast the first spell, a wand spell, doing seventy-five points of damage. “I’ll tell you how. His own power brought him down. Storm is much too powerful, and when fully unleashed it can destroy even its controller.” I knocked away Blaze’s Storm Shark with Vampire. “Sure, he was brought down, but not before he brought down so many other people.”

“You know nothing!” yelled Blaze, casting Triton. It drained my health quite a bit, but I cast Vampire again on a Death Blade and Feint Trap next, restorting enough health to continue the conversation. At this point, it was more important than the duel.

“I know everything!” I yelled back. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I’m seeing myself from Blaze’s point of view. His health was low, and with one last spell I could defeat him. Instead of letting him cast heal like he was going to, I reshuffled the deck and found Thunder Snake. I made him cast that.

Back with my own sight, I cast Banshee and the duel is over. Blaze looked dazed, his friends yelling at him, asking him how he had lost to a Magnus. I grinned maliciously at him and crossed my arms. 

“Remember me now?”

By

Emma Dawnrider