The Phoenix Ring(40)

"But why would I need to learn something like this?" Aidan asked, his sadness slowly morphing into the rage he knew so well.

"Because when the time comes, you must be ready to kill Rickentoh," his  master said, standing and offering a hand to his apprentice. "Now come,  there is far more to do and far too little time to do it."





The plan was straightforward. Bartemus had enlisted the help of the  merfolk who lived in the waters around the isle and hated any relative  of the sea serpents. Aidan was no longer surprised at the existence of  such magical creatures.

If the boy and his master could knock the dragons or their riders into  the sea, the merfolk would do the rest. Dragons are far too heavy to fly  using only their wings, and so rely on magic, similar to griffins. So  while magic is unable to physically kill them, it is able to ground  them, or in this case, drown them. Because of the system of leaders  challenging each other, the two sorcerers would likely only have to  defeat three or four dragons before Rickentoh challenged one or both of  them to a duel.

Furthermore, Bartemus didn't have the time to teach his pupil how to  effectively battle a master wizard, and so instead placed a unique sort  of spell on both of them that would store their power until another  spell released all of it in the span of a few hours.

As a result, Aidan felt exhausted and weak. His magic was barely  functioning, so his master didn't teach him any new spells, but instead  focused on the elementals he already knew.

"When you fought the dragons before," Bartemus told him, "the beasts  were on a raiding party, and killing the riders would be enough. Now,  they are going to war, and they will continue to fight with or without  their companions. The spells you use must not only kill the rider, but  have the potential to kill their steeds. "

The dried lava was perfect for forming sharp projectiles, and the water  and even air could be used as a weapon. Fire would be mostly useless, to  Aidan's disappointment, but Aidan's master would be raining lightning  from the sky. After some debate, they had decided not to teach Aidan  this skill, as lightning was dangerous and hard to control, especially  with a staff.

If all went well, Aidan would never be more than a power boost for his  master. Once Rickentoh challenged Bartemus to a duel, Aidan would not be  allowed to assist his master, but neither would the dragons be allowed  to assist theirs.

Storms were brewing overhead as the sun set on the final day. Bartemus  received no information from his informant, which meant that either he  had been caught or all was going according to plan, and the dragons  would swarm the isle in the morning.

They sat on the hill over Marcus's cottage as the sun disappeared below the horizon.

"There is a tradition," Bartemus said, "that if a sorcerer is going to  battle for the first time, he will cast the first spell. Tomorrow, you  will slay the first beast. Rest well tonight, I'll be inside."

Aidan's stomach was in turmoil as he stared at the sky, the stars  blocked by clouds. He closed his eyes, some inward part of him trying to  speak to Marcus, but he fell asleep before he could make a true  attempt. Strangely, he did not dream of his mother, or Timothy, or even  the battle to come.                       
       
           



       

He dreamt of Aaliyah.





19





Whether it was the thunder, the distant roars, or the sudden rush of power that woke Aidan, he would never know.

Bartemus was standing on the edge of the isle, battle cloak swirling around his legs.

Aidan ran inside the hut, threw on his cloak, grabbed his staff, and ran back out to join his master on the shoreline.

Aidan's hands were shaking as he instinctively pressed the button on his staff, its click calming him ever so slightly.

Even from such a distance, the dragon army was terrifyingly impressive.  The beasts were all different sizes and colors, and many were covered in  battle armor that glinted in the cloud-covered light.

"It's time," Bartemus said. "Aim for the large one, a little left of the center. I don't want to deal with any behemoths."

Aidan's heart was pumping faster than it ever had as he whispered the  spell, "Terrack." At that moment, he truly felt how much power rested  inside of him. His master's spell had worked flawlessly.

The broken lava shard, about two feet long, rose into the air. Aidan  flicked his wrist, and it soared towards the beast. He felt it  travelling towards the base of the left wing, but lost control a moment  before it slammed into the creature.

They heard a bellow, and the creature spiraled downwards into the ocean.

For a moment, Aidan felt horror for what he had done. But then, he  started to feel something that terrified him. He felt powerful and calm.

Bartemus raised his hands, the dragon on his forehead glowing, and  lightning began to fall amongst the creatures as they flew closer and  closer to the isle. Aidan launched three more lava shards, but the  dragons were wearier and began to dodge them at the last moment.

The first fireball hit the ground only a few feet from Aidan and knocked  the boy into the air. He somehow managed to not let go of his staff as  he landed on his back. He sent a retaliating lava shard into the air,  but didn't aim. His master was still standing, eyes closed, and  vulnerable.

Three dragons separated from the main group, which seemed to be trying  to pass the isle, and flew towards Bartemus as their kin were knocked  out of the sky by lightning strikes.

The first dragon was a spineback that wore far too much armor, and was  struggling to fly. Aidan pointed his staff in the beasts general  direction and whispered the word "herrakai." Air. The spell hit the  beast from the side, who spiraled downwards. It tried to pull up as it  neared the water, but to no avail, and pierced the surface with an  enormous splash.

The second beast was certainly a moghrack, and it came close enough to  the isle for Aidan to see its cloaked rider before the boy shouted  "akae!"

Water welled up from the ocean and enveloped the creature a moment  before it could release the fireball that would have slain Bartemus.  Aidan swore he saw a golden trident slam into the beast's underside as  it fell into its watery grave.

As soon as the spell was done, the mage dropped to one knee, dots  swimming across his vision. This magic was depleting his energy far too  quickly, he now felt slightly less powerful than he normally did without  the help of a spell.

By the time he looked up, the third dragon had almost landed. Aidan  instinctively knew that this was the Black Thunder. It was massive, yet  still lithe and fast. Aidan could feel the magic radiating through it,  even with its scales, and as it landed its tail destroyed Marcus's hut.

"He's here!" The mage yelled. Bartemus finally opened his eyes, though Aidan could tell he was feeling weak too.

"I challenge you to a dual in the ways of old," the rider yelled, his body concealed by the dragon's giant wings and neck.

"Show yourself, Rickentoh," Bartemus yelled back, "and I will accept your challenge."

The beast snorted and slowly lowered its wings. Aidan had been expecting  to see a young, strong man, tattoos lining his face, a sword at his  side. Instead, he saw an all too familiar, extremely fat figure.

"Edwin," Aidan said, anger beginning to fuel his power.

"Yes lad, it is me. Really Barty, did you think that Malcommer would be  stupid enough to send his only rider ally into what was almost certainly  a trap? Of course, he needn't have been worried, as the only resistance  appears to be two hopeless fools trying to be the heroes. If Malachi  were here, it would be just like old times, eh?"

Aidan could feel his master's rage starting to burn stronger than his own.

"But I am not here to challenge you, Bartemus. No, your time will come.  It is him that I am interested in," the warlock said, pointing at Aidan.

The mage felt a cold stone drop into his stomach, but it was almost immediately melted in the blaze of his rage.                       
       
           



       

"Why?" Bartemus asked, "He is just a boy."

"Aye, and he's the boy who humiliated me. I will end him here, where  there are no rules. And if you try to stop this, then my friends will  kill both of you," Edwin said, gesturing towards the sky. "And I assure  you, neither of you will survive."

The dragons had turned back and were circling the island. The two sorcerers had barely put a dent in their numbers.

"Step aside, Bartemus," Edwin said. "Do you accept my challenge, boy?"

Aidan felt the power rise inside him. "I accept."

Bartemus stepped aside, his face somber.

Edwin laughed, and his dragon's tail flicked towards Aidan. The boy had  no time to react, but felt his staff ripped from his hands.