Legends of Marithia: Book 2 - Darkness Rising (19 page)

“
Of course I am,” said
Anakari confidently with a hint of uncertainty.

“
I love the courage in your
heart. We will ride until nightfall and you should make yourself
comfortable, but stay alert,” she warned as they joined the
northern trail, leaving Crondor behind.

Anakari had never tested her abilities
in real battle, and although she displayed a front of courage, she
deeply feared what they may face.

Chapter 14 : Fight Or
Flight

“
Our lives are forged by
choices we make.

What do you do when a choice has been
made for you?

I used to have my future in my own
hands and dreams of where I would be when I grew old. Now, I have
been given both the gift and curse of immortality.

Where are the gods and why have they
forsaken me?”

(Tusdar – Zhendurian
Vampire)

Wind howled wildly over the falls and
rain bucketed down to drench their surroundings, but the water
dragon statue was not affected by the natural onslaught. Lightning
flashed every few moments and provided bursts of bright light on
the island.

Karven landed near the falls and lay
down to allow Vartan’s descent from his back.

“
We will practice here.
There is no place more fitting to practice than where you were
granted your gift,” said Karven, stepping to the left side of the
falls.

Vartan took position on the warm rocks
opposite the dragon king, with the water of the falls in between
them. The steam from the heated water provided an eerie environment
for their training. His clothes were sodden and flapped in the
strong wind.

Sensing beings of magic, yellow wisps
danced to the entrance of the cave to witness what was about to
take place.

A flash of lightning revealed rain
bouncing off Karven’s scales and Vartan’s skin.

Karven folded his wings and stared at
the man of the dragon prophecy, cocking his head sideways as he
sensed Vartan’s reluctance.

“
Do not attempt to take it
easy on me as I will provide no mercy in return. Dragon’s blood
runs through your veins and you
will
do our kind proud. We shall
follow the simple rules of training with no lethal blows. Begin!”
he ordered.

Vartan nodded, breathed
deep, and raised his arms wide in preparation of casting a high
level spell. He chanted, “
Utor terra creo
quis meus mens abbas!
”

Another flash of light revealed stones
rising from the ground surrounding Vartan. They began to glow. The
spell crushed the stones into tiny pieces and moulded them into an
enchanted broadsword. Red symbols of the ancients glowed along the
blade.

Wielding it with both hands, Vartan
charged at Karven through the shallow water of the falls, water
bursting around him with each step.

Another flash revealed Vartan leaping
out of the water in an attack on Karven’s lengthy tail.

The dragon flicked his tail out of the
way just in time to let Vartan’s sword pound into stones, sending
magical sparks into the dark surroundings. Karven breathed a stream
of fire onto the sword and they watched it melt in the heat. Vartan
shook his hands with the burning pain, dropping to his knees, he
cooled them in the warm water. Quickly regaining his composure, he
turned slowly to stare at the dragon.

Karven laughed as he mocked
Vartan. “You will have to do better than
that
if you are to defeat the Forces
of Darkness, do you want to die by the hands of Kassina or
Shindar?”

With another flick of his tail,
ensuring he only touched him with the blunt side of its tip; Vartan
was sent crashing into the water behind him. A winded Vartan stood
up with warm water dripping off him, growling in
annoyance.

Karven narrowed his eyes
and snapped, “Come on! Show me
something
worthy!”

Vartan snapped back, “I don’t know how
to use my new powers!”

“
Stop using your mind to
find the key and follow your heart. That is the only way to unlock
the powers within you.”

A bolt of lightning hit the top of the
falls, sending bits of rock and dirt dropping down and splashing
into the water around them. Karven unfolded his wings and used them
to walk like a bat toward Vartan’s position. The force of the giant
dragon in full motion almost put Vartan off balance.

Vartan circled his hands to
join above his head and chanted, “
Permissum visum animadverto geminus quis est quod
ero!
”

A half transparent version of Vartan
leapt out of his own body, splashing into the waters to his left.
It completely solidified and mirrored his every move.

Karven entered the water, the force of
his entry pushed a large gush of water toward Vartan. Bracing for
the impact, Vartan and his magical twin were engulfed in the water.
Sweeping his tail over the surface, he knocked both their legs out
from under them.

The spell dissipated and the second
Vartan disintegrated into the water. Karven expanded his great
wings and covered him in complete darkness.

He looked around but saw nothing he
could focus on or use to guide his senses. Rain pelted down on the
dragon’s wings, almost deafening Vartan. A flash of lightning lit
up the membrane of the dragon king’s wings around him.

Vartan’s temper got the better of him
and he screamed, “Dragon king! Why do you taunt me?”

“
You are greater than this!
While you have studied high level magic, you have not unleashed
anywhere near your potential,” said Karven, opening his shining red
eyes to reveal his great head near Vartan.

“
Forget what you see and
hear around you and look inside yourself. Find the soul of the god
and the power of the dragon blood that lives within you,” said
Karven, folding his wings.

Karven stepped back into
the water and growled, “Now, stop showing me what the books have
taught you and show me your
true
power!”

Vartan closed his eyes in an attempt
to search within himself. Although he tried with all his might to
seek out his new powers, he found nothing there. Opening his eyes
and about to protest, he felt time slow as Karven’s dragon breath
burst out of his great reptilian mouth. The falls lit up from the
scorching heat.

Vartan’s heart pounded and he
desperately searched his mind for a way to protect
himself.

Vartan, we did not
sacrifice one of our own for you not to use what has been granted
to you. Open yourself and let the element within be free,
said the voice of Mother Dragon.

By the gods, I will
die!
Thought Vartan, panicking.

The immense heat grew in intensity as
the flames neared him and the reflection of fire over the water
would have been a beautiful sight if it were not about to reduce
him to ash. The flames burst over Vartan and the dragon king
continued the onslaught of scorching fire.

Keturah’s voice echoed
through Vartan’s mind,
No!

The flames slowly began to push back
toward the dragon king, Vartan’s arms extended forward as if he was
forcing the flames away with his bare hands. Thousands of rain
droplets were magically pulled from the air surrounding them and
smashed against the fire as a weapon, sending scorching hot steam
into the air between them.

Spreading his legs wider to brace
himself, he pulled his arms back and shoved them forward again.
This time, the waters of the falls followed his command and washed
over the fire, extinguishing the dragon’s breath and covering
Karven in a wave of water.

Vartan stood as if he was a part of
the water around him, his eyes glowed blue.

“
Behold!” exclaimed Karven,
“You
are
one with
Mazu. It has been many centuries since I have witnessed the powers
of the goddess of water, and now she lives within you.”

Vartan swung his arms to a diagonal
position and clenched his fists, the power within crackled with
blue light and sent water bursting into the air around
him.

Vartan chanted another
spell. “
Unda amplexus mihi fio meus
tempestas!
”

The falling rain surrounding him froze
in the air and swirled around him as if he were inside the eye of a
storm.

“
Finally a worthy challenge
for a dragon,
now
let’s see what you can do!” responded Karven, spreading his
wings before launching into the air.

Vartan held his ground, listening to
the thumping sound of the dragon’s wings beating in the air far
above him.

Karven landed in a perched position
above the falls and breathed deep before sending flames at Vartan.
With a flick of his arm to his right, Vartan sent the icy water
into the flames and a loud hiss escaped from the resulting
steam.

Vartan’s booming voice
echoed into the night. “Is that
all
you’ve got, dragon king?”

Viciously smashing his tail into the
ground, Karven dove into the air, narrowly missing the water dragon
statue. Dragging his tail through the water and flying close to the
surface, Karven turned right sharply and swung his tail toward
Vartan’s head.

Deep in concentration, Vartan felt as
if the water became a part of his body. He felt Karven’s movements
and knew the position of the dragon from the changes in the water
and the ripples caused by the wind of the great dragon’s wings.
Vartan dropped to his knees and felt the powerful gust of air from
Karven’s tail swinging over him. Turning to his side, only his hair
flickering over his face and his glowing eyes could be seen through
the darkness.

“
Pluvia tenus lemma quod
transporto suus somes pessum
,” he growled,
casting his spell.

Vartan reached up into the sky and
pulled down as if he was controlling the clouds above
them.

Karven felt the great body of water
from the sky become thicker and solidify to become a weapon from
the clouds, rolling into one giant wave. Bracing for the impact,
the cloud tsunami pounded into the dragon. He folded his great
wings and landed harshly on the ground, shaking off the
water.

Vartan breathed heavily and adopted a
strong defensive stance.

“
Very good, but now let’s
see how you handle an adversary that gets closer to you,” said
Karven.

The dragon king approached Vartan and
stopped three men’s lengths away from him. They both stared into
each other’s eyes, waiting for signs of movement.

Vartan closed his eyes, focusing on
the surroundings. The falls, dragon statue, falling rain, and
landscape covered with water all filled his mind. As if he saw
through enchanted eyes, he was able to see in all directions and
whatever was touched by water became known to him.

Breathing deep, he concentrated harder
on his newfound powers.

The dragon’s body, much like his own,
was mostly filled with water. Karven’s great form slowly pieced
together in his mind with every thump of the dragon’s heart until
the entire dragon could be seen and his every move could be
anticipated.

Keturah’s voice entered his
mind.
If his body is created with water
within, you can control his body from the inside
.

Vartan grinned as the realisation of
his power sunk in.

Karven swung his tail from the right,
but Vartan was ready for him. Pushing his hands into the air
between them, he sent Karven’s tail flying back toward the dragon
from the inside. Lifting his arms high into the air, Vartan lifted
Karven’s body off the ground.

“
Vartan, stop!” commanded
Karven.

Vartan growled with the concentrated
power soaring through his veins, struggling to control its
release.

Stop!
, said Mother Dragon.

The power continued to strain Karven’s
body and the dragon roared with the pain. Mother Dragon knew that
she had to respond or it could be the death of the dragon king.
Invoking herself into the water statue once again, she blew a
stream of water over Vartan, knocking him to the falls and
releasing his grip on Karven.

The dragon king dropped to the ground,
breathing heavily.

Vartan returned to his normal form and
rose from the water, running to Karven’s side after regaining his
senses.

“
By the gods, Karven! Are
you alright?” asked Vartan.

Karven raised his head from the ground
and stood, shaking. He laughed and said, “It would take far more
than that to send me to the stars.”

Vartan saw through the dragon king’s
attempts to hide his fear and approached him slowly.

The dragon king fell into the water,
visibly injured from Vartan’s attack. Mother Dragon used her powers
of healing to mend the dragon, the water of the falls glowing as
they did for Vartan.