The Sorcerer's Ring (Book 1) (10 page)

“Fine,” Olivia said suddenly, causing Leslie to raise an eyebrow.

“Fine what, little lady?”

“We’ll let you have Remi.” Leslie noticed that Eckard had no objections.

“Thank you. I respect you decision. It was very wise of you. I will also tell my superiors about this day. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, could you please direct me to where your friend is now?”

Olivia pointed in the right direction.

“Thank you,” Leslie said, bowing his head. “I will also let you know that if you continue along your current path, you will eventually come to the ruins of the former Langoran Kingdom. While there isn’t much there, some mercenaries do still use it as a base of operations. You might want to consider avoiding it, in case you encounter Langorans that aren’t as nice as I am.”

“Thank you,” Eckard said sheepishly. Olivia reached out and squeezed his arm.

“I don’t believe this,” Kace said aloud. Everyone turned to their left to see him coming from behind one of the trees. He was furious.

“You knew he was coming?” Olivia asked Leslie and the Langoran nodded.

“I wanted you to make the decision you wanted to make. Without influence from anyone. I’m sure Kace will try to persuade you now.”

“How could you betray Remi like that?” Kace shouted, baring his sharp teeth.

“You didn’t find her?” Olivia asked.

Kace spat on the ground. “What does it matter to you?! You don’t care about her!”

“How much of the conversation did you hear?”

“Enough to know you both are traitors! And Eckard, I’m really surprised with you! The whole point of this journey is to get her to Paragon so that she could receive Sage training! Now I’m wondering if you Sages are even who you claim to be.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” Eckard replied. Kace’s face softened.

“Are you kidding me?” he whispered in awe. “I can’t believe this.”

“Believe it, my friend,” Leslie said, addressing the young Quietus. “And this as well. You are outnumbered in every conceivable way. Would you consider letting us carry out our mission without interference as well?”

“Not a chance,” Kace growled.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Kace grunted and fell to the forest floor, landing on his knees and both palms of his hands.

Leslie turned to Olivia and Eckard. “I would maintain my distance. Your friend is transforming now.”

“Transforming?” Olivia looked on in horror as she saw Kace’s skin beginning to darken until it was the color of tar. It rippled as if it was dark water and bubbled as if it was manifesting his rage. His hair was slicked back and his teeth grew sharper as his face narrowed and sharpened. Scythes of sharp bone protruded out of his forearms as the fingernails on his hands sharpened and lengthened.

“We all transform. The Sages have boosts in speed and strength. The Quietus turn into creatures like the one you see before you, and the Langorans grow to inhuman proportions, expanding their muscles and mass.”

“How is this possible?” Olivia asked, watching as Kace groaned and began pawing at the ground. “The atmosphere.”

“No, our individual races were able to do this before the great Collision. Now our abilities weaken with each passing year while those who were born afterwards, like yourself, gets stronger. Transformations will soon be a thing of the past."

“Not yet though,” Eckard whispered, grabbing Olivia’s arm. “We should get farther back.”

Kace lunged at Olivia but Leslie stepped in the way. He jabbed Kace in the face quickly and the Quietus fell to the ground on his back. He instantly jumped back to his hands and feet and began darting side to side in front of the Langoran, looking for an opening. He barely saw Burt and Kettle tackle him from behind. With their massive muscles growing with each passing second, they pinned Kace into the dirt and began pounding on his head, back and forth as if they were driving a stake into the ground.

Leslie watched on and supervised, keeping his arms outstretched to protect Olivia and Eckard. When Kace’s transformation finally withered away, and the black skin that once covered him slipped off into and under the soil, he let his arms fall.

Kace, now unconscious, was no longer a threat.

“See how easy that was?” Leslie said, speaking to Olivia and Eckard. “He didn’t even manage to get a single blow in. The result would have been the same for the rest of you.”

“We kill?” Burt asked and Leslie tilted his head to the side to think. He turned to Olivia.

“When he was in your camp, did he mention anything about belonging to a special group of Quietus? Or was it a sect kind of like your own?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Quietus have no allegiance,” Kettle replied.

“This is true,” Leslie muttered to himself. “Well, I don’t see any reason to keep him alive.”

“But I do,” a shout rang through the air.

They all searched frantically for the source of the voice, and finally, Leslie’s eyes settled on a thick branch high above their heads. Remi stood there in the sun’s rays, letting it bask her in its radiant light as she held onto the side of the tree for support.

She was frail, and it was even more apparent now that her poncho was no longer available to her, but that didn’t sway her resolve. She had seen Kace searching for her, but she had kept herself hidden, in order to see what he would do without her there. If he would decide that she wasn’t worth his time.

She was surprised to see him go back to the others—not to give up—but to get more help in the search. And she was glad she did follow him. For Olivia and Eckard’s actions hurt her to no end. It made her nauseous to see her friends betray her. But crying over it wasn’t going to change anything.

Only her might would.

Only the warrior from inside the mirror could.

“Remi,” the Langoran leader called out to her from the ground. “Come down and accept your fate. There is no need for violence.”

“I’m done being underestimated,” she roared, shaking several birds out of the trees. “I’m done being seen as weak and helpless. And if it requires pounding your faces in for all of you to see that, then so be it.”

Remi jumped down from the tree.

“This is unnecessary,” Leslie said as Remi hit the grass.

“No, you wanted this,” she said, pointing at them all one by one. “You all did.”

“Remi, I—” Olivia began but Remi just glared at her and Olivia shut up.

“I’ll take you all on,” Remi declared. “Literally, all of you.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Eckard said but Remi ignored him. She concentrated on her transformation and Leslie tapped Kettle in alarm.

“Get her now before she finishes,” he ordered. Kettle barreled towards her, cocking back his arm and preparing to smash her face in when Remi’s body transformed, but not in the way anyone was expecting.

His fist hit an armor of solid steel, making his knuckles give off a sickening crunch as his hand was immediately broken. He howled in agony as he backed away. Leslie squinted his eyes to examine Remi. Her white Sage robes weren’t present. She was standing there, but it was if her entire body was coated in steel. She didn’t move, but from how much pain Kettle was in, he figured that the defense was phenomenal.

“Interesting,” he said as the armor suddenly disappeared. Remi—just normal Remi—ran at the wounded Langoran and leapt into the air. Before he could focus his attention on her, white Sage robes draped over her as if someone had thrown a blanket around her body, and her Falchion eidolon was gripped firmly in her right hand.

She thrust it into Kettle’s head, killing him instantly.

“NO!” Leslie shouted, pointing at Burt. “We finish this now!”

They ran at Remi with their full speed, pumping energy into their legs. Remi narrowly dodged Leslie’s fist as it grazed against her cheek and she quickly ducked under Burt’s haymaker. With them both keeping up the pressure, she knew she wouldn’t have time to activate her armor, and besides, she was sure they wouldn’t fall for it again.

But that also meant she could use that knowledge against them.

She saw Burt’s fist coming directly toward her face and she fought everything within her that said to run or duck. She stood still, ready to accept the blow. But since he was looking out for her armor to reactivate, he suddenly stopped his assault, figuring that she was in the process of summoning it.

She wasn’t.

She whipped her eidolon forward and took off his arm and nearly half of his right side, causing him to teeter over from the loss of the weight. His body slammed into the ground at the same time Leslie managed to graze the other cheek with his knuckles. Frustrated, Leslie tried to tackle her, but with a burst of speed fueling her legs, she was able to pivot and let him go flying into the grass.

Her body shuddered from exhaustion, but she wasn’t yet finished.

She told it to shut up or die.

She grunted as she took a step back on her aching sole. Leslie rose to his feet and looked to his fallen comrades. Once he noticed that Burt was still breathing, albeit barely, he decided to be smart.

He abandoned the mission.

Keeping a wary eye on Remi who had reverted back to her normal state, he picked up Burt’s bleeding, limp body and began running deep into the woods.

“If you come back, I’ll finish the job!” she screamed, her voice echoing off the foliage. She clutched her sore throat and then turned to the people who she once considered friends.

“Fight me,” she demanded. Olivia and Eckard shook nervously. “I said fight me.”

“I’m not going to do that,” Olivia said, positioning her hand over the hilt of her sheathed sword. “There’s no point to this.”

“There is,” Remi replied, glancing momentarily at Kace. He was groaning and coming to.

Good, she thought. He’s not well enough to fight yet. I don’t want him to interfere.

“You have to fight me,” Remi stated. “Because until you come at me with all you’ve got, and I win, you’ll never respect me, let alone like me. You’ll continue to think I’m a liability when I’ve already proven over and over that when I must, I rise to the occasion. If beating you at your best won’t make you face the truth, then I don’t know what will.”

“I could hurt you,” Olivia said. Remi threw her hands up in the air.

“That’s what I’m talking about. You still think you’re better than me. But you’re afraid of who you’ll become if you admit it. Just do it already. Say it. Say you’re better. It coats your words every time you talk to me. It’s the topic of almost every conversation you have behind my back. It’s painfully obvious, so you might as well just admit it and then come over here for your ass whooping.”

“Fine,” Olivia said, glancing over at Eckard. “That means you too.”

“I know,” he mumbled. He reached back under his poncho and produced a sword that resembled a dagger in form. It was just a little longer.

“Thank you for this,” Remi said, sprinting toward them and letting the white Sage robe materialize around her, as if the wind itself was clothing her. Eckard surprisingly attacked first. He crouched low and just as Remi finished blinking, he was in her face, already thrusting his blade slowly into her stomach.

Thankfully, she was already anticipating a finishing blow from the start. She allowed the blade to continue piercing while she activated her armor, just where her abdomen was.

Eckard’s blade bounced off of her stomach but that didn’t deter him. He spun around and swung at her neck. She was sure he wasn’t out to kill her. He wasn’t the type. So that meant he was aiming to distract. She ducked under the blow, but she kept her eyes at his other hand, which was clenched, cocked, and aiming straight for her chin in an uppercut fashion.

She accepted the blow.

The hit was so strong that it lifted her off her feet for a moment, but she couldn’t concentrate on the pain. She let her Sage robes dematerialize, giving off the illusion of defeat.

It was Eckard’s undoing.

She could see him smile as her toes hit the grass and immediately she lunged toward him, transforming her body into the suit of armor. She fell on top of him with her full weight.

He heaved under her weight, losing all the air in her body while she winced under the crunch of steel against shattered bone. Eckard blacked out.

The armor fell off of her like a shell, and the pieces vanished into thin air. She climbed to her feet, using Eckard’s body as support and then she faced her rival. Olivia had her sword blazing so hot that it had turned white, and the look on her face was nothing short of contempt.

“I didn’t kill him,” Remi said. “Just some cracked ribs and a warning to never mess with me again.”

“You’re nuts,” Olivia said, inching forward.

“Why didn’t you help him back there?” Remi asked, trying to steady her breath. “You would have had a better chance of winning if the two of you attacked me at once.”

“Because I can beat you all by myself.”

“There’s that foolish pride again.”

“I haven’t shown you everything I can do, Remi.”

“And obviously, neither did I. I never revealed that armor technique to you.”

“No...you sure didn’t. What’s the point of that anyways? You can’t move when you’re in it.”

“That is the point,” Remi sighed. “My body can’t take too many hits. Even that uppercut back there hurt like crazy. It feels like my jaw is about to fall off…I had to come up with a way to protect myself.”

“My blade can cut through that armor of yours. I’m sure of it.”

“It probably can. I need a long time to build up density.”

“Then just admit that you’re weak and we’ll put an end to this.”

“And then what? Go back to being friends and just travel together like nothing happened? No thank you.”

“Wait,” Olivia blinked. “What do you mean? We’re not traveling together after this?”

“You actually thought I would?”

“But you need me to protect you…or to keep you warm.”

“I’ll manage on my own. Besides, after what I heard you say to the Langorans, I can’t trust you.”

“I gave you up because they would have killed us all, not because I wanted to.”

“You’re lying, but that’s okay. I proved you were wrong. They couldn’t do anything to us in the end.”

“How was I supposed to know how it would all turn out?”

“I don’t know. But you sure showed who you are. Now come at me already. We’re both wasting energy.”

“Is that what I want?” Olivia scoffed, examining her friend. “Because it looks to me like you’re barely standing. Maybe I should just wait this out.”

“Fine, I’ll come to you,” Remi sighed. She took one step forward and Olivia lost it. She screamed in rage as she swung her blazing sword at Remi, slicing through the trees around her whenever she missed. Remi kept her focus tight on Olivia’s movements, recalling how she moved and what they had worked on together in training. No matter how much Olivia claimed she had secret moves, Remi was confident that it was just another lie.

Olivia was transparent to nearly all but herself. And Remi was going to prove it.

“Transform!” Olivia shouted as she nearly brought the fiery blade down onto Remi’s head. Remi refused. She knew that she was taking a big risk, but the rewards of winning far outweighed the consequences of losing. For the sake of her friend’s sanity and growth, as well as her own, Olivia had to have her pride broken.

“TRANSFORM!” Olivia roared as her swings became shorter in succession. Remi was barely able to keep up with the assault now, but she told her body not to stop. Just a little longer. Just a little more kindling of Olivia’s fire.

“Why aren’t you transforming?” Olivia practically wept, attempting a weak kick at Remi’s torso. Remi side-stepped it and then slammed her right fist into Olivia’s face, sending her reeling backwards into a tree. As the back of her head hit the tree, her arm flailed up and swiped through it, bringing down the giant over them both.

Remi rolled out of the way as Olivia sliced through it just as it came on top of her. She was safe, but shaken. Remi moved in quickly. Before Olivia could gain her composure, Remi punched her hard again, and then again. Dodged a swing of Olivia’s blade, and then continued her attack.

No boosts in power. No extra speed. No Sage abilities.

Just solid bone against raw flesh.

Olivia cried out as she was hit once again, and she fell onto her butt. Remi kicked Olivia’s hand and the blazing hot sword was thrust to the side, slowly leaving a scar into the soil it lay upon. Remi jumped on top of Olivia and began hitting her mercilessly, ignoring her pleas.

Olivia wouldn’t stop if the situation was reversed. And Remi needed her to know that she didn’t have to either.

She was more in control than her friend realized.

Remi hit her friend in the cheek one last time and then she got up. She nearly stumbled from the vertigo, feeling the adrenaline leaving her body. But it didn’t matter. It was finished.

Kace strolled over to her and she fell into his arms. He picked her up and was about to say something when he heard her lightly snoring. He looked over at Eckard and Olivia. Eckard was still unconscious but Olivia was wide awake, weeping over the wounds Remi had inflicted on her. He didn’t bother asking if she was okay. He just left her writhing while he walked on with Remi in his embrace.