Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight (50 page)

However, nothing struck him, a black-bladed
sword slipped up in front of him, inches from his nose and severed
the attack in twain. The rogue wave scattered around him in a wisp
of wind.

"Do not give up now, Mageknight," encouraged
Calador, taking up a position next to Danny, blocking two more
waves.

Angling Magear upward, Danny sliced through
the third. With the help of the Ghostsight, Danny was able to
anticipate which waves Calador would miss; they worked together, as
a team, caught up in a dance of death-defying defense. However, the
pain in Danny's chest didn't lessen. His lungs continued to crave
air, his muscles burned continuously from the forced movements.

"I can't… keep this up… much longer,"
whispered Danny, knowing that Calador's keen hearing would pick up
his plea.

"Nor I… Mageknight."

As if from nowhere, a huge beam of golden
energy swept through the surge of Syndil's attacks, destroying
every silvery wave in a loud swoosh of air. The shaft of light
slanted skyward and cut a sizable hole in the surrounding storm
above, then it dissipated. The gap in the dark clouds lingered,
allowing a large ray of sunlight to shine through before the storm
surged around it and swallowed the opening.

"What… was that?" Danny questioned Calador,
his breathing haggard and forced.

"The King of the Light," Calador said, his
voice heavy with relief.

Danny turned and followed the path of the
amber beam back to its origin; he found the King of the Light
standing over the disintegrating form of a Gran Shadow.

The king wore a glittering suit of golden
armor, a shield made from the same precious metal and a brandished
Bonded that seemed to glow like the noonday sun. Next to the King
of the Light stood Sabrina, Matt, Chris, Alonso, Anthony, Doug and
Briza, weapons bared and ready. Behind them, an entire army of
Knights of the Light and squires stood ready to assist them.

"Syndil Sartak Tribolari!" the king yelled in
a bold and commanding voice.

"It seems my time here has come to an end,"
said Syndil, presenting those gathered with a mock salute and
sheathing his Bonded. With flashes of darkness, the remaining two
Gran Shadows appeared on either side of him. Turning, the two
Shadows escorted him to edge of the dark vortex. Syndil lingered at
the precipice.

"…Syndil!" Danny yelled, gritting his teeth
in rage, fighting through the lingering pain in his chest. He
surged forward, yet didn't get far, Calador applied a restraining
hand to his right bicep.

"It is too late," said the Elf, pulling Danny
back to the edge of the pool.

"Get back," the King of the Light ordered
those around him to a safe distance.

Forced back behind the Pool of the
Mageknight, Danny refused to take his eyes off Syndil as the
upsurge of the black twister increased in ferocity.

Syndil turned at the last instant, meeting
Danny's steady gaze with his own. In that moment, a sweeping smile
crossed his face and the raging cyclone swallowed him whole.

"Get down," Calador ordered, shoving Danny
behind the rounded edge of the pool as the black tornado increased
in size and shape, sucking up large chunks of stone and surrounding
rubble.

Danny watched the ruined sword he had wielded
as a squire clang across the stone, the vortex yanking it into the
dark void. The windy turbulence culminated in a sudden whoosh of
air, just before scattering without a trace, leaving small pieces
of stone and debris to tumble end over end back to the ground.

"Are you alright, Danny?" Calador's voice
sounded somewhat distant.

With the immediate threat of danger over,
Danny allowed the pain and exhaustion to envelop him as he slumped
to the ground and fell into the inviting bliss of
unconsciousness.

"Danny," he heard Calador call to him again,
this time he sounded even further away.

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anny awoke to a soft jerk of his hand, stirring
groggily. With a shift of his head, he followed his outstretched
right arm to the side of the bed where he spied Sabrina. Sound
asleep, both of her hands were wrapped in his.

"Hey," he said, groaning. He squeezed her
hands lightly with his own.

Sabrina came awake right away. "You are
awake! We were all very worried."

"…We?"

Sabrina began to move away from the bed, "I
will get the healer."

"Wait," Danny begged, holding onto her hand,
pulling her back toward the edge of the bed.

Sabrina turned back toward him.

"I'm sorry for lying to you."

Sabrina gave Danny's hand a gentle squeeze
before placing it back on the bed. "Do not worry about that now,"
she said with a smile. "You need your rest. Now, just lie still and
I will get the healer."

In no condition to argue, Danny relaxed into
the soft fluff of the bedding. Noticing his arms for the first time
since the altercation with Syndil, he was somewhat alarmed to see
rolls of white bandaging wrapped from his wrists to his shoulders.
Looking down at his body, he noted that the same dressings bound
his chest, a slight but sharp pain was also present. The ache
seemed to come with even the smallest of movements or shallowest of
breaths. However, he didn't have long to think about his
predicament. Sabrina returned a few moments later, a man in
dark-green robes with the symbol of Light stitched on the chest
followed behind her.

"So, you are awake, Squire Firoth," the man
said, making his way to the side of the bed. With soft brown hair
and welcoming blue eyes, he had an aura of calm about him. "I am
Sir Virgil, a Healer of the Light. How are you feeling?"

"A little weak and…" Danny held up his
bandaged arms as an unsaid final word.

"I am afraid you sustained some first and
second-degree burns to your hands and arms. Your weakness is
normal, Squire. You have been unconscious for about two days now.
It will take time for you to regain your full strength."

"Two days!" Danny tried to sit up, a
surprised reaction. However, the sudden sting of chest pain forced
him back onto the bedding. "Where am I?" he asked, looking around
the room, seeing that he was but one of many lying in a row of
beds. A series of long, narrow windows, made from colorful stained
glass, bathed the room in a soft rainbow of colors.

"Easy, Squire," the healer ordered, putting a
restraining hand on Danny's shoulder so that he didn't attempt such
a reckless action a second time. "In addition to the burns, two of
your ribs were broken and a third was fractured. I have done all I
can to speed up the healing process, but the Human body can only
heal so fast. You are currently in the infirmary, located in the
eastern wing of the Castle of Light. I am afraid you will have to
remain here and rest for at least another full day. As you can
see," said Sir Virgil, motioning toward the other injured
occupants, "Syndil's betrayal was most devastating indeed. You are
lucky to have only sustained the injuries you received."

Danny relaxed slowly, trying to remember the
events before his black out.

"Magear!" he called out, recalling that he'd
recovered the Bonded of the Mageknight.

"Relax, Squire Firoth," assured Sir Virgil.
"We of the Light are well aware of the ties that a knight has to
his Bonded. It is here." Reaching down to the side of the bed, the
healer produced the familiar sapphire hilt, sheathed in a royal
blue scabbard with the symbol of Light attached at the midpoint,
molded from sparkling platinum with a royal blue hue. "Sir Bartlett
saw to the sheath," Sir Virgil explained, presenting the sword to
Danny with both hands, careful not to touch the hilt.

"Thank you," said Danny, taking the blade in
hand.

"So, it is true," Sabrina said, inching
closer to get a better look at the sword.

"What's true?"

"You are the Mageknight," her eyes grew wide
in excitement.

"I guess so," said Danny, angling his gaze
downward, her words were like a dagger in his heart, reminding him
of the lies he'd told her.

"Rest, Squire," encouraged Sir Virgil,
placing a light hand on Danny's shoulder, giving him a gentle
squeeze. "I shall inform the King of the Light that you are
awake."

Danny snapped out of his dark mood. "…The
king?"

Sir Virgil produced a soft smile. "Yes, the
king, he requested an audience with you as soon as you awoke. I was
instructed to notify him the instant you regained
consciousness."

"What would the King of the Light want with
me?"

"You are the Mageknight, Squire. The question
is, what
wouldn't
the King of the Light want with you?" With
that, Sir Virgil produced a soft smile, turned and made his way to
a pair of large silver doors. "Oh," he said, stopping and turning,
"You have some other visitors, they have been anxious to see you.
Should I show them in?"

Danny looked at Sabrina, who nodded,
suggesting that the answer must be yes. "Yes, please, Sir
Virgil."

With a slight nod, Sir Virgil turned and
exited the chamber. A few moments later, the double doors burst
open as Chris, Alonso, Matt, Anthony, Doug and Briza entered the
chamber, forming a half-circle at the foot of Danny's bed.

"We were all pretty worried about you, man,"
said Chris.

"I cannot believe Syndil turned out to be a
traitor to the Light," said Briza, dropping her gaze and shaking
her head. "He has not only disgraced himself but the race of the
Elves as well."

"You can't judge an entire race based on the
actions of one," added Doug, placing a reassuring hand on Briza's
shoulder. He smiled. "I can still think of a few Elves that
represent their race quite well."

Briza returned the smile, "Thank you."

"You look terrible," said Alonso bluntly, a
combined look of anger radiated from everyone. He shrugged his
shoulders. "What?"

Anthony crossed his arms, the sheer size of
his biceps stretching the fabric of the robes taut. "You fought
well," he said with a nod.

"Is that the Bonded of the Mageknight?" Matt
asked, adjusting his glasses for a clearer look.

Danny presented the blade for everyone to see
as best he could.

Leaning forward for a closer look, Matt
reached out as if to touch the hilt. However, he retreated from
Sabrina's swatting hand.

"No," she said, stepping forward, forcing
Matt backward. "A Bonded is only to be touched by the wielder. It
is dangerous to touch another's Bonded."

"Why?"

Sabrina visibly relaxed. "You would have been
aware of this fact if you were Lightborn, but since you are only
first-years and have not received a Bonded of your own, there is no
way you could have known."

"Each Bonded has a personality of its own,"
Briza lectured, jumping in. "You can never be sure how a Bonded
might react if touched by one who is not its wielder. Grave
injuries have been known to result from such contact."

"What kind of injuries?" Matt asked,
withdrawing his hand, resuming his close proximity to the bed in an
attempt to get a better look, like a moth to a flame.

"Severe burns, blindness, or the loss of a
limb," said Sabrina matter-of-factly. "Just to name a few," she
added with a shrug.

Matt took a step back. "It's an epic sword,
looks better from a distance." His comment caused chuckles, easing
the tension in the room a little.

Danny placed Magear on the bed beside him.
"Oh yeah, who won the final duel between Lion Army and Dragon
Army?" he asked, turning his attention toward Sabrina, ashamed that
he'd forgotten about the event until now.

Sabrina tensed at the question. "Neither
side, once the bells sounded the alarm, the duel was stopped
immediately."

"I'm sorry," Danny whispered.

Sabrina met Danny's gaze. "Do not be. It was
not your fault."

"But it feels like it was my fault. None of
this would've happened if it weren't for me."

"You are right. It is your fault," said
Briza, causing those gathered around the bed to shoot her a look of
warning.

Doug placed a restraining hand on Briza's
arm. "Perhaps you should…"

Briza glared at Doug. "No," she said, turning
back to Danny. "The members of the Light have waited centuries for
your return and, yes, you are right to think that you are
responsible for the unofficial celebration that is taking place on
this island despite the tragic event of Syndil turning traitor. You
are at fault for inspiring hope to those that had all but given
up."

"She's right, man," said Chris. "Your name is
being uttered almost everywhere. Syndil is second-hand news
compared to your new title as Mageknight."

"That is not exactly official yet," said a
stern yet familiar voice. Danny looked up to find Calador standing
just beyond the doorway. "Not until the King of the Light sanctions
you, of course."