Bloodflowers Bloom (The Astral Wanderer Book 2), D'Artagnan Rey [essential reading .txt] 📗

real and potentially fatal mistake. He ran a hand down the mask for a moment as the order from before grew steadily louder. Kill them. He would, of course. That was what he had come there to do, but he should take the time to enjoy it at least.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“By the Astrals, I hate doing that,” Jazai said where he sprawled on the ground, coughed, and shook his head. “Teleporting oneself is enough of a pain but bringing others along for the ride makes things…whirly.”

“Are you okay?” Asla asked and rubbed his back. “You did the same thing with the ghoul earlier.”

“I had to get it out of the way,” he muttered and rolled onto his knees. “I didn’t want to have you dodging my attacks while dealing with the creep.”

“Where did you take us?” Devol asked and looked around. “Are we in the crops?”

“I didn’t have time to plan.” He raised a hand but lowered it weakly. “I chose a direction and cast us through the…the…hold on.” Jazai slumped and moaned and Asla rubbed his back.

“We need to get him out of here.” The young swordsman patted his friend’s pocket. “Where’s his marble?”

“No!” the diviner protested and forced himself to stand. “We need to keep Salvo busy while Wulfsun and Farah finish with the rift.”

“Wulfsun?” Devol asked incredulously. “Do you think he’s all right?”

Both his friends shook their heads. “What? Of course! You haven’t learned yet that surviving perilous situations is simply what he does?”

“What in the hells was that?” the Templar roared, pushed himself to his feet, and helped Farah to stand. Above them, a massive dome created using his majestic had defended them from the large fireball that threatened to incinerate them. All around the barrier, the pit was aflame but inside their smaller space, they were safe. “Damn. I had to let go of the rift to make that barrier.”

“Is it opening again?” Farah asked and glanced at the portal “Can you still close it?”

“Aye, but I need to keep this barrier going as well,” he stated and studied the inferno outside their haven. “Those aren’t normal, even for magic fire. I don’t want to risk being caught in that.”

“Wulfsun!” Farah held her blade up and nodded toward the portal. Several more fiends came through, these a little more solidly built than the gaunt horde they had recently fought. “Focus on the rift. I’ll take care of these.”

“Thanks.” Wulfsun nodded. “I’ll work as fast as I can. The barrier will probably get smaller if I have to keep it up for too long. And when we’re done…” He looked into the sky. “We need to find out whatever the hell made that fire. Hopefully, the young ones don’t do anything rash.”

Salvo strolled around the fire-wall and threw out small blasts of flame in an attempt to smoke the three friends out. “Have you left already?” he shouted and set fire to a row of crops. “Is this getting too hot for you?” He sighed at that. It was pathetic. He could usually come up with better taunts but he was too hot and bothered. What the hells was wrong with him?

He looked at the fire-wall around the pit, parted a section slightly, and peered in. At the very bottom, a dome of bright yellow light was visible amongst the fire. A magical shield? It must have been damn sturdy to survive his attack and still be standing. He squinted at the numerous figures inside. One wielded a sword and fought several darker humanoid beings. A larger one occasionally confronted a few of the creatures but seemed to be focused on something to do with the rift.

It didn’t matter to him exactly what they were doing. He had tried to kill them earlier and it would be bad form to let them continue living. It was a point of pride with him to finish what he started if possible. He pointed his wand at the shield and considered the best way to destroy it when he sensed a powerful surge of mana directed toward him.

“Salvo!” Devol roared and raced toward the fire magi with renewed vigor.

“There you are,” he responded cheerfully, turned toward him, and fired a stream of flames. The boy swung his blade to cut them cleanly and disperse them. The fire magi leapt aside and the blade narrowly missed his jacket. “You can cut through fire?” he asked. “Is that normal for a sword?”

“Frost!” Jazai shouted and a pillar of ice suddenly encased all but the bottom of his left leg, right arm, and neck.

“Do you think this can hold me, you novice?” he demanded as he began to force out of the ice using his strength alone.

“Fortify!” the diviner stated calmly. The ice began to harden and compress the villainous magi.

“Clever little bastard.” Salvo scowled and tried to spin his wand in his hand. As he began to form a fireball to blast himself out, Asla pounced at him, her claws extended and aimed at his mask. “Don’t you dare, mongrel!” He hissed his outrage and the fire orb turned into several smaller ones that he cast at her. She was able to twist around them and stretch a claw forward to swipe as he managed to burst through the ice in a fit of rage. The wildkin rebounded off the pillar, which began to melt from the heat, and landed near Devol as the fire magi landed and ran a hand over his mask. He suddenly became very still.

The young swordsman noted marks on the mask. Asla had been able to damage it, although the plan was for her to try to steal it. He would finish it, he decided. That had to at least cause some damage to Salvo, shouldn’t it? They were connected as long as he wore it. He took Achroma in both hands and the light within swirled into a fire not unlike his adversary’s. As the man turned toward him, he surged