The Last Wizard: Case Files (5 page)

   He did it. Holy jesus, I haven't seen power like this in ages. The power of a djinni.

   A black pulse traveled through his arm, into the wizard's body and shot out a thinly veiled black force pushing me back slightly. Jinn got up leaving the wizard on the floor, he laid there motionless, Jinn yelled out in a frightening voice. Coming back towards me, he walked by without looking at me and headed straight to Sonia's body. I turned to look, as he knelt down to her.

   "Sonia." He said softly, changing back to normal. Picking up her head, he placed it on his lap carefully. I stood near and watched, keeping an eye on Balin as well, who stood still as the ritual continued. Sonia murmured off a word, I couldn't hear. Jinn jolted upward at the sound.

   "Sonia! Hey, stay with me." Jinn said holding her, "Balan! Help!"

   I could see her arm reaching up, grabbing ahold of Jinn's gripping him weakly. Her body didn't move, her legs twisted on the floor.

   "Jinn. I--" She said in a hoarse voice, "help them." She raised her arm pointing towards the children as if it looked like she had spent her remaining energy to do so.

  Afterwards, she drifted asleep as her small heart fought tirelessly within her chest. Jinn huddled over her, gripping her tightly, he brushed her hair as tears leaked from him onto her face. Jinn didn't say anything, he merely sat there as his strong hands gently cradled her in his arms. His cry was now the sole thing that echoed the old stadium. For the first time in my life, I could feel the pain Jinn exper-ienced.

   And it fucking pissed me off.

   Brother or not, there is no excuse.

   You are fucking dead.

   "Brother!" I yell to him walking into the storm, "How could you do this?" Standing face to face with him. He held his stance, and kept the ritual going no matter what.

   "Balan, my dear brother, for decades you sat by idle as our brothers and sisters were hunted. For years you sat by and lived in their world as they destroyed ours. How could you call yourself a wizard?" Balin said to me.

   "And this? This is right?" I said to him, removing the sheath from my cane revealing the obsidian blade.

   "The sacrifice of the few will help the many. This will bring an end to this fruitless war and once again bring mages back into the light!" Balin said, his eyes glared at me unnervingly. 
   "What are you doing?" I ask, looking into the sky. I raised my cane and point it right to his heart, "don't make me do this, you need to stop this now."

   "You cannot stop this anymore brother. Once it has started, it cannot end until it's over." Balin said.

   "You already lost one vessel. Stop brother." I pleaded, I must end this now. The lives of the children are waning every moment I hesitate. But it’s so fucking hard! Don’t judge me, he is my brother!

   "One loss will not stop the ritual; Ladon's body will receive its force to awaken." He explained.

   "Ladon? Wait..." I said.

   "Yes, Ladon, the guardian. This portal will summon him back into our realm where he belongs." Balin said laughing excitedly, "he will finally bring peace for us! By destroying our enemies."

   I pushed my blade forward with all my might but it sparked against an invisible shield around Balin. My blade couldn't pierce it, I slashed away but nothing happened. Before I could try for a third time, a loud roar broke out above us.

   I looked up to see the head of a giant dragon making its way through the portal. It was large enough to block out the sun above us. Its dark obsidian scales moved as one as it slithered its way through the portal. Its eyes were a bright yellow like an old lamp that was about to die, but in this case it was a force to be reckoned with. It shifted constantly as it climbed out one hand at a time.

   Finally, I slashed the ground beneath Balins' feet. The dirt moved, it became alive as it moved up his body. Climbing him, dirt started to cover up his body piece by piece turning to stone as it rose. It took a few seconds before it reached his neck, yet he still didn't budge until it reached his face. At that point he smiled, and cast out a blinding light.

   The stone on his skin exploded sending me flying across the field. I couldn't see anything but the disappearing blue sky. As I lay on the field, clouds loomed above as rain began to fall and thunder snapped with the absence of lightning. My robes were wet and heavy, it took me a few minutes to get to my feet. By the time that happened, the portal was gone and the dragon sat on the field by Balin. The tail curled around the stadium, it was enormous. With one clap of its wing, it climbed into the air creating a gust of wind, I had to shield my eyes from the dirt. Climbing higher and higher, it disappeared among the clouds. Its roar rumbled among the thunder.

   The kids that were once hovering in the air, laid on the floor around the field. Balin, standing over me, offered a hand to get me to my feet.

   "What the hell did you do?" I said to him, refusing his hand.

   "Brought on the apocalypse, brother." Balin said, drop-ping his hand to his side, "after the dust settles, we will finally be able to rebuild our world."

   "The fuck you will. I will hunt down and kill that dragon, with or without you." I said to him looking around for my cane.
   "I can't let you do that." Balin said pulling his hands out from behind him.

   "What are you going to do?" I said walking up to him, I turned to look for Jinn.

   He was wandering among the children on the field. He didn't even stop to help, he simply walked up to the baby, looked down and continued. Turning to me he shook his head.

   "You killed them all?" I said to my brother, I could feel the rage within me building.

   "You did, by taking one out, Ladon drew more power from the others. There is a reason I picked twelve." Balin said pointing his finger onto my chest. Balin then looked back at the bodies, no remorse on his face.

   "I can't, I can't do it. You can't get away with this." I said stretching my hand out, my cane zipped through the air into my hand. Slashing forward, my sword release an energy so powerful, that once it collided with Balin's shield it created a large blast. Apporting out of it, I saw Balin fade backwards.

   Standing in-between the blast, Balin looked at me as he faded again. I could see the fabric of space bend in front of me slightly. Pushing my hand towards the ground, I gripped and raised my hand, as I raised my hand, the ground crumbled onto itself and falling down, like a sink hole.

   Falling backwards, Balin faded back into reality as he stammered backwards away from the gaping hole that spanned a quarter of the field. He twisted his body and leaped into the air high above me. Falling straight down towards me, he pulled his cloak in front of him. It turned into a silver spear with the edge pointed down right at me.

   Twisting my hand again and moving it to my side, I grasped the earth around me and encased myself into a bunker made of dirt and stone. I could feel the clash of the metal hit the enclosure, cracking the roof. Shooting outwards the stones darted in every direction like nail driven torpedoes. Balin spun like a tornado, deflecting all of the stone that came into contact with him.

   "Stop this madness." Balin shouted at me, "like hell you can defeat me. You don't have the guts to kill, you never did."

   Ripping the handle off my cane, I tapped the blue crystal against my forehead. I could feel the pain as my body ripped into two, tearing right down the middle. My head felt like it was being sawed down by an old rusty and dull saw. But now, standing beside me was a mirrored image of myself, an illusion.

   "That's new." Balin said, turning his cloak into a silver metal.
   "This ends now!" I howled after him.

   Both of me ran towards him, one from the right, the other from the left. The one on the right shot a bolt of lightning at Balin's feet while the other rumbled the ground as it shifted below him. Throwing him off balance, the me on the right shot out a shockwave pushing him backwards as the me on the left apported behind him with my hand and cane extended.

   A wave of light blew out from his shield, as it disinte-grated. The second me on the right disappeared.

   I stood with my cane wedged into his heart. He had moved into my apparition, fusing his body with my blade. I pulled it free, blood dripped from the edge of my sword as my brother fell to the ground.

   "You were always so naive." Balin said to me.

   "And you never listen brother. If it wasn't for you, peo-ple would still be alive." I told him, sheathing my sword.

   "No! You can't blame me for that. I did what I had to, I did what anyone would do if they saw their family and friends hunted like dogs just because they were different. We didn't start or deserve this, the Church will burn for its crimes against our world. I promise this." Balin said coughing up blood.

   "Go now brother, as I clean up your mess again, I shall see you in another life." I said walking away from him. He yelled for me, but I couldn't look back, he didn't deserve it.

He brought this upon himself.

The Apprentice

By Allen Brown

"
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.
"

                                                                                                                                                                                     - Edgar Allan Poe

Prologue

   The pastor took each step with intent as he approached the podium, he was careful to not disturb the ground beneath him. His legs dragged, as if they were weighted, along the freshly cut grass shining from the dew that coated it the night before. The atmosphere was heavy, and the air thick. Silence crept the hollow grounds like daises invading a field of roses. Gripping the podium, the pastor zeroed in on us, his audience. Diverting my eyes whenever his glance hovered over to me, he began, "Ladies... Gents..." He spoke in a thick Irish accent, pausing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. He has clearly done this a thousand times, something I imagine one could never acclimate to. Continuing, "We gather today on sorrowful terms," He said with a glaze in his eye.

   Unlike our eyes, we latched onto each word as he spoke, it carried us along like an old train chugging away at rusted tracks. My eyes traced each casket that lay before us, the first in particular gravitated my attention. It wasn't any bigger than a coffee table, I felt as if I could cradle it in my arms with ease. I really wanted to.

   "Lest, we must not forget, this is also a day of joy!" His voice sparked anew, a fire burning within had ignited breathing fire into his patrons, it warmed our hearts from the brisk wind. "These children may have left us early, but they continue on their journey on a different plane." He said in an almost lectured tone, the pastor stood straight and continued, "We are best to remember, that we are soon to follow."

   Continuing his prayer, the pastor stood with his neatly combed red beard brushing with the howling wind pushing pass like a steaming kettle. His Irish accent became more apparent with each word. He donned long black robes that were as dark as night, and a white shirt that was as bright as day on a perfect Sunday afternoon. The caskets were each etched with their respective family crests. On a day where the clouds wrapped the skies to every end, the polished wood had a shine to it, courtesy of the Church.

   The crowd was mostly mute, sans the sniffles and coughs that the weather had brought upon us. I couldn't help but stare blankly at the red roses that were tied down onto each casket, flickering with the wind.

   Could I have done more? Is this my fault? It was my brothers' doing...

   Jinn was beside me, but I couldn't look at him, I didn't 
want
 to. I was scared that if I did, I would only see a look of disappointment staring back at me. Sonia was a few seats back as well and I could feel her eyes burning a hole in my back.

   Why did I come to this fucking funeral, I want to fucking leave.

   I gripped the knob of my umbrella so tightly my hand started to ache. Finally, I gave in, I dropped my umbrella down. Starring into the heavens, past the tree shrouding us from most of the rain, the leaves danced with the wind, moving in a perfect rhythm. A single droplet of rain fell in-between the cracks, drifting down towards me. In a brief moment, I could see the reflection of everyone in the bubble right before it landed on my forehead.

  "Don't fret Balan... You tried your best, it wasn't your fault." Jinn said without looking at me, his head stayed straight as if he couldn't peel his eyes from his target. "Remember I wouldn't be here without what you had done for me, I know you tried just as hard to save them."

   His words were like a dozen blades tossed into the air and all miraculously find its way into my chest. I could barely breathe from how my chest had tightened.