104: Into the Fray – Pt. 2

Victoria stood back with the others as dozens of archmages, wizards, priests and occultists battled fiercely in the open field near the shattering ruins of the water plant. “We need to put an end to this. We cannot allow Fane to fully restore his powers,” Julian urged. “The result would be catastrophic!”

“I’ll say. The man snapped his fingers and evaporated Cassatt,” Marcel said, still reeling from having witnessed an elder vampire’s death with such ease. “I can’t even begin to imagine what could happen once he’s back to full capacity.”

“Well, I will have to get back inside to his holding room. There is a lot of stray chaotic energy to harness in there. And if what Fane said is right and we’re linked, and I truly believe it is, I’m going to need a leg up on him. I think I can use his own powers against him.”

“What do you need from us?” Derrick asked, stepping closer to where Victoria stood.

“It’s asking a lot, but I could use some distraction. Give Fane a target to focus on while I siphon off his magic.”

“We’ll provide as much cover as we can,” Rowan said, nodding toward Marcel. 

“Thank you, Rowan,” Victoria smiled sincerely toward the man, taking in the solemn appearance of the other mages and priests standing behind Julian and Emery. She knew it was a scary and dangerous thing to ask of these strangers to risk their lives, but at the moment, it was the only way.

“Victoria…” Derrick said, catching her arm as she turned to re-enter the crumbling facility. “I know it goes without saying, but be careful in there.”

“I will, Derrick.” Leaning closer, she placed a gentle and loving kiss on his lips before softly caressing her hand down his cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He stood and watched until she disappeared, feeling a pit in his stomach as she rushed back inside a building that was being loosely held up by rapidly dissolving concrete and stone pillars.

“It’s what you’ve prepared her for, Edmund,” Emery said, seeing the despondent look on Derrick’s face. “You were right in your assessment of Victoria. Trust was a much better foundation than compulsion. She’s taking on a great deal of risk to ensure the safety of everyone she loves to battle this monster.”

“And now we must do our part,” Julian added. “Let’s buy her as much time as we can.” With a nod, Derrick, Rowan, and Marcel rushed into the fray.

Back inside the dungeon, Victoria held her hand against the now smoldering ruins of the once visible scribbles that held Fane. Warm to the touch, she concentrated on bringing the magical energy running through the lake’s ley lines forward. Believing it to be the same sorcery Fane used to communicate with Cassatt, it had to be powerful enough to pierce through realms which hopefully meant she could use it to send Fane back to wherever he came from and keep him there indefinitely.

She could feel the magnetism of his enchantment buzzing through her as she tapped into the powerful forces that ran through the ground. It had been years, decades even. And the amount of sorcery that seeped from within the runes her ancestors scribed within this tomb was immense. It would seem Fane, with nothing but time on his hands, had figured out a way to use it to free himself and much more. 

She could feel the magnetism of his enchantment buzzing through her as she tapped into the powerful forces that ran through the ground. It had been years, decades even. And the amount of sorcery that seeped from within the runes her ancestors scribed within this tomb was immense. It would seem Fane, with nothing but time on his hands, had figured out a way to use it to free himself and much more.

Her body warmed as the potent forces flowed into her. She could feel it elevating her own ancestral magic, she could only imagine what it must have done for someone like Fane Dragonos. As her senses sharpened, she became more attuned with nature and her surroundings. It felt as though the metaphysical elements of her environment were truly a part of her being in every way possible, giving her the confidence to face her enemy.

“It’ll never work…” She heard Fane’s voice in her mind. She knew he would feel her push into his spectral vault but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

“I told you I would send you packing,” she replied in similar fashion.

“But I’ve only just returned. I have too much to do to leave just yet. And you and I have much catching up to do.” Victoria ignored him and continuing pulling all she could while in her mystical trance. “And I’ve already told you, I won’t let anyone stand in my way.”

His breath brushed across the nape of her neck just before the gust of air that picked her up. With a blast of conjuring, Fane broke Victoria from her incantation and tossed her across the room. The brutality of the blow jerked her violently and she landed hard against the wall, hitting her head with such force her vision blurred. She shook her head to clear it as she looked back toward Fane.

Punching a fist though the floor, Victoria watched as Fane drained the remaining resources from the runes. The powerful magic enshrouded him with a bright red glow that matched the rage-filled fury in his eyes. Desperately, Victoria tried to crawl forward to stop him or to at least reconnect with the ley lines beneath before he could completely drain the energy, but it was no use. Raising a hand in her direction, he ensured she remained where she lay, far enough away from his tomb and within his line of sight. 

“I don’t want to fight you, Victoria. You and I are much too similar to be at odds,” he said as he continued his engagement. “I’d hoped you and I could become friends; allies even. These people you’ve aligned yourself with, they don’t have your best interest at heart. They are only using you toward their own agendas. But I, however, I would never handcuff you to only one avenue of magic when there are hundreds to explore. With me, you could fully discover who you truly are as a witch, a Carson witch, uninhibited and without restriction. Don’t you want that?”

“I want my family and my friends safe and in order to do that, I need you gone.”

“Hmm, well that’s disappointing.” Once he was finished, he stood, taking three menacing steps forward he knelt down, ensuring he had her undivided attention before he spoke, his voice cold and gritty. “This is your last warning, Victoria. Stay out of my way or else,” he snarled, before vanishing once more.

Victoria stumbled to her feet and pushed her way out of the building. All around her was chaos as small battles ensued in every visible part of the grounds. The impact into the wall had done more harm than she’d realized and she was slow to recover once back outside with the others. Noticing her reduced mobility, Derrick rushed over, pulling her against him as he moved her toward the edge of the large field. “What happened? Are you ok?”

“Fane. He caught me off-guard. He took the last of the ley line energy,” she grunted, leaning more into him for support. “But I’ll be fine. The magic I siphoned, I can feel it healing me. I just need a moment.” As she rested, she glanced out across the pitch. Rowan and Marcel were each battling against members of the cult, working their hardest to reduce their numbers.

The sky suddenly darkened as it filled with so many wyverns that they blocked out the sun. More filled the perimeter, until the entire area was domed under the writhing, deadly mass. All the while, the ground continued trembling with more of Fane’s skeletal army resurrecting and rejoining the fight. It didn’t take long for the wyverns to start dive bombing from the sky. They were flying into allies and snatching them up only to release them from such a height it would take an entire blood bank to heal in time. “Oh my god,” Victoria gasped. “Fane is out of control.”

“Victoria…”

“Go, Derrick, I’ll be fine!” He hurried back to the middle of the field to try and hold off the army of the dead as even more cultists crossed the far hills. Just as Victoria felt herself healed and stood up to join him, another surprise crossed the horizon. It was Fane riding on the back of a large dragon!

Her eyes widened as he directed his flight toward the main battle. She watched as he ordered the beast to fire and felt the heat of the flames as its breath ignited the ground around them. Meanwhile, he invoked his magic and sent a flurry of sharpened wood hurtling toward the council.

“Rowan, look out!” Victoria yelled and jumped in front of him. Quickly, she conjured up a shield, safeguarding them both from the onslaught of stakes spiraling toward them. Three more volleys rocketed near them, but her protections held. Above them, the green dragon circled, looking for an opening for its attack. “We’re gonna need to move soon.” From the corner of her eye, Victoria saw Derrick mounting an attack. Launching a spear straight up toward the creature he successfully drew its attention so she and Rowan could get out of the line of fire.

“Run, now!” she instructed. Scooping her up in his arms, Rowan sprinted toward the other side of the field away from the main action to give them time to compose. “Holy shit, Rowan, are you flying?” she squealed as the field went by in a blur. “And you think MY travel habits are bad?” Rowan’s deep chuckle rumbled against Victoria’s neck before he set her down. “Damn, that was close.”

“You saved me,” Rowan replied in shock once they were out of harm’s way.

“Well of course, I did,” she replied, a little breathless, “Look if the rules have changed and I’m supposed to let you die, please let me know and I’ll promptly see to it.” He laughed again before gracing her with a smile. Reaching out his hand, Rowan helped Victoria to her feet. It was at that moment he realized her shield hadn’t activated in time.  

Victoria!” Rowan shouted as she collapsed in his arms, feeling the sudden burning sensation searing through her left side. “Bloody! Darling, you’re injured. Be still, let me have a look.”

Rowan ran a hand over her side, gauging the depth of her wound. The smell of her blood caused dark veins to appear near his eyes and he shut them as he fought to control his desire to feed. “Rowan?”

“I’m fine, Princess. Don’t worry,” he said, looking down at her as he continued his assessment. “It doesn’t appear to have hit any vital organs.” She winced when he rolled her to the side a little more and took a deep breath as she struggled through the pain.

“That doesn’t make it hurt any less. You have to take it out. I need to get back out there.”

“Well in that case, Luv, I guess it’s my turn to play hero.” Gently, he removed the wooden projectile before using it to rip open his wrist. Holding it up toward her he nodded encouragingly, “Drink.”

“Rowan, no.”

“Drink. It’ll heal you.”

“But if something else happens to me out here—if I die…”

“I won’t let that happen. Now drink.” Closing her eyes, she placed her mouth against his cool flesh, and with a grimace, swallowed three large gulps of his blood.

Lifting her shirt, Rowan watched as her wound mended and sighed with relief. “There we are, Luv. Right as rain.”

“Thank you, Rowan.”

“My pleasure, Victoria. Come now, let’s get back to it, shall we?”

They rushed back into battle, aiding elder council mages take down three of the skeletal soldiers. But no matter what they threw at the undead army, they kept getting back up. It was a brutal onslaught with no apparent end in sight. 

After getting tossed to her back once more, Victoria slapped her hand on the ground. The impact jolted magic through the earth and all of her nearby adversaries were viciously slammed down. “Enough of this!” Victoria growled in frustration. Jumping to her feet, she rushed forward as Fane approached once more on the large green drake. Holding her hands out in front of her she reached to the depths of her ability, drawing on her elemental magic as her entire body lit up in dragon’s flame.

She waited until he was within reach and aimed a fireball straight for him. Fane barely had time to pull up as the gigantic flame flew inches from his head. But Victoria didn’t let up, sending arc after arc and putting him on the defensive. The gain from her ancestral magic continued pulsing through her, to the point she could sense Fane’s dragon but there was something else. Something she couldn’t quite make out.

Just then, a thunderous roar ripped through the sky as a much larger red dragon flew straight toward Fane and his approaching beast. Without hesitation, it opened its maw and bit down on the neck of the green drake, ripping out a hole the size of a Buick. Fane gave a panicked shout as he toppled from the sky. He and the slain creature hit the Earth with a deafening slap.

For a moment, there was no movement and Victoria held her breath as she watched for signs of life. Another cry shattered the stillness and her eyes moved up toward the sky again. The red drake, blotted out the sun briefly as it flew past before swooping down, heading toward her.

Victoria readied herself to fight, but to her surprise, the creature landed and seemed to bow as it gently eased closer. Confused at first, she watched to see what the monster intended. That’s when her eyes caught on to a tiny detail on the dragon’s left eye and she gasped. “PYROSE?!” she exclaimed and moved toward the dragon.

Reaching out a hand, the drake dipped its head and allowed Victoria to caress its scales. “I can’t believe it. It’s really you!”

But there was no time to celebrate. Without warning, a spray of flames shot out toward the pair. Pyrose quickly extended her wing, covering Victoria as a black dragon rushed in to scoop up Fane. “You didn’t really think this was over, did you?” She heard Fane’s shout as he mounted the new animal and took off into the clouds.

“Ebonwrath?”