CHAPTER 30: FORGED BY FIRE

Castor was exhausted, having used much of his concentrated heat at Master Zoe's wall of fire that halted it in an instant. When he finally released it, he could barely breath steady enough to stand. He wasn't the only one as Master Zoe had used up a considerable amount of her strength maintaining the great barrier for longer than the estimated 5 minutes had anticipated. As neither one was willing to fault it was now a battle of wills, except for one fatal flaw. Master Zoe had noticed, but tried to notice until this the moment her barrier had broken.

Her leg, even though one of them was strong and sturdy for her age, the other was made of wood, and more vulnerable to fire. Throughout the fighting it had been blackened and charred and weakened at every joint. She knew that one more blast of that same magnitude would cause it to break completely, as a piece of charcoal. By the looks of her opponent he was readying up for his second wind.

"You're pretty strong, witch, but I see things clear now." Castor with his green around his eyes mixing with red from his protruding blood vessels. "I see the color of your spark, it dwindles like ember but mine is hungry."

As he talked the grass around him started to light like small candles growing with each breath he took to gather her strength.

"I need kindling, kindling for my spark...you'll make fine kindling." As his nostrils flared with smoke, Zoe felt her wooden leg getting weaker, brittle. "Give me your spark, give all you sparks. Make me stronger, stronger than lightning, stronger than thunder, strong than...the sun." He inhaled deeply and strong as if absorbing all the fire that surrounded him dormant in the smoldering terrain.

In his hands he summoned balls of fire and pieces them together like a miniature sun above his head. As the air grew dryer and stale, the fire grew larger until it was a large cannon ball. With this one shot Castor placed all his remaining power, his rage, his anger and frustration, into that sphere.

"Now, DIIIIIE!" He let it go to the sound of a thousand flames burning all at once propelling it like the tip of a large flaming arrow.

As it came slowly moving forward, Zoe did not know if she could block it. Or even catch it, since the heat of the flame could cause her wooden leg to break. She readied her hands to catch the sphere, turning them into brilliant white light. Even if she managed to catch it, she could not hold it, but maybe could deflect it. Not enough to pull it to the sky but maybe divert it to the woods, it would cause a major bonfire explosion but more manageable than the sphere. However, that would sacrifice her leg and leave her vulnerable to an attack. No matter what would happen, a sacrifice was inevitable as the sphere heading straight forward her, or so she thought.

Clash! What sounded like steel grinding against stone, was actually that of a jagged dagger fashioned from a Ruby Salamander's claw colliding with an infernal sphere of fortified heat against its edge. Master Zoe had not fallen but was now standing between the sphere and her protege Anthony miraculously holding the fireball at bay. If he had been an ordinary human, he would have been burned by the sheer heat of this fireball's flames, but years of training his body in the power of soul force had guarded him well. It was a great defense he had trained to master but lack of understanding prevented him controlling it well, until this point. Now with his knife in hand he felt he could not only completely guard against the flames but also push it back.

"What are you doing, kid?" Master Zoe kept her hands up wondering what exactly he had in mind.

"Something incredibly brave or stupid." She heard her own advice reflexed in this young man's voice.

Step by step, inch by inch he pushed the fireball back toward its castor. His flame grew red hot from the ferocity of the flames, while Master Zoe could only watch him in his relentless trek. By now Castor had realized his sphere had not reached its mark and was shocked and bewildered at this sudden turn of events.

"No, that can't be, it's impossible! You're just a hunter. You're just a hunter!" He called out in blinding rage increasing force behind the sphere.

Anthony was pushed back several steps but regained his strength and continued. So determined in goal he didn't notice the sharpened edges of his blade chipping away like find sand wearing against the blade. Again, Castor tried pushing his muscles and his veins to the brink of eruption. Still, Anthony kept adamant, continuing even as the blade began to chip away. Only a few feet away from Castor became desperate and agitated, pressing against his sphere like a hammer against steel.

"You're not a hunter, you're a demon...a demon...a demon...A DEMON!" With his calls his blood had completely boiled and his skin began to crumble by the heat of his own fire.

"I'm...just...a man." He was now only inches away from Castor that he started to tremble back. "Now...do it now Clio!"

Castor had been so focused on beating Zoe that he didn't notice the steam of water sneaking up behind him. Neither did he notice the small pinch of needle hitting the back of his neck from a syringe containing a powerful anesthesia. Since it was derived from the same element as the herb he ingested it hit him quicker and stronger bringing him to his knees in an instant.

Anthony no longer needed to hold his guard as the fireball began to disappear around him. As it did, the blade in his hand finally cracked and crumbled with rocky bits to the floor. Strangely he was not concerned so much of his blade, but of Castor who was now a shell of mage. His body was scorched, his skin nearly dried like aged fruit, and his body shivered even as he slept in the grass. Behind him was a startled Clio holding her syringe, shaken but still steaming even as he shield of water dispersed into the ground.

"I thought it would be harder to find a vein, but he was practically drawing a map on his body with all the spirit force he tried shoving into his body all at once." Clio commented.

"That's what happens when Fire Mages focus on Soul force without focusing on the other four inner elements, it's what keeps a body from destroying itself when drawing on greater power from the remaining three forces." Anthony looked at his free hand knowing well the importance of all his rudimentary training. "His states of mind must lower his soul force as well, since he got signed by force of his own fires."

"It could have been worse, if you hadn't knocked him out when you did his whole body would have gone up like kindling." Master Zoe wobbled over to their side, with her wooden leg barely managing to keep herself stable.

"Ms. Gaia, you leg." Clio rushed over by her side to assist.

"It's on its last stand, but I got another in the wagon." She brushed off her concerns. "More importantly, I'd suggest you go out into those woods and tell Niles and his family the worst is over."

"What about him and his associate?" Anthony pointed out the fallen grass.

"I'll see what I can do, with basic first aid, but I'll have to make some more anesthesia if we're going to keep them sedated during the operations. You know where I keep the stuff Clio, break it out once we've got everyone settled back."

Clio rushed off into the woods to begin her search, leaving Anthony alone to help Master Zoe before she could collapse.

"What about the third man that got away?" He asked.

"If we're lucky he hightailed it back to whatever hole he crawled out of, and I don't think he'll be the kind of man who'll take revenge for THESE men." Zoe remembered how poorly they had treated that man before. "The other man was simply stunted, but this one will require some work."

"You honestly think this man is worth saving?"

"I'm sure many who have said the same if you were in his position." It was then that he remembered when Zoe quoted her oath only shortly ago.

"A Healer protects Life, to understand that all life is precious, treat every life as if it were your own."

"More importantly Bios, I'm curious how you managed to absorb that electrocution when last time you were screaming in agony?"

"Honestly...I don't know." Anthony tried to figure it out. "Normally, to counter an attack of soul force like lightning you need spirit forces, but I was focused on body force trying to prevent myself from bleeding out completely."

"That's why the ice shards didn't tear you to ribbons when I heard that icicle break." Zoe remembered the incident in battle. "If you had used spirit forces to guard against the voltage, it would have bounced off you, how did you manage to absorb his energy like that?"

"I'm uncertain if that's an accurate statement." Anthony tried to describe what had actually transpired. "It was more like it went through me, through the earth, and came back as a different power all together... How was that even possible?"

"I can't say it's what I think it might be, not without running some tests, but if it is. That might explain why a lot of things, like what just happened recently." He eyes then turned downward to the handle that Anthony was holding in his right hand. "Have you looked at that fancy knife?"

Anthony had not, assuming that the sound of falling rubble were the remains of his knife broken apart on the floor. He looked over to it and found there was still something attached to his handle, it was sleeker, slimmer, blunted and round like a fantastic jewel on the hilt. As he raised his hand to examine it in the fading light of day, he recognized a familiar appearance in its design. While crystalized and smooth on the outsides, on the insides of the blade a strangely moving light. It was like an oval of liquid fires moved like lava from tip to handle and turning back around. He had seen this many times before, but like his mentor he didn't want to reach any conclusions without running some tests first.