Ch. 32: Final Stretch

"Who are you?!" Behind me, Arius snarled, baring his claws and rising to his feet.

Maceren smirked. "Your savior, of course." He bowed. "Maceren Arrakhan, at your service, sir. Earnest salutations."

Before Arius could make a move, I stopped him. "Wait. Arius, he's the one I spoke with. He's here to help us." Then I turned to find that Maceren had come towards us. "Mace, there's a problem. You need to leave the city immediately. I got permission from Prince Illesior to take my brother and four other individuals and come with you. We have to leave before sunrise."

He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "What is the fuss, little maiden?"

"Your father, Baron Arrakhan, has come to the city. He's looking for you."

Instantly Maceren made a face. "How did you find out that he was my father?"

"He told the Queen." I shuffled my paws awkwardly. "Do you know why he is looking for you?"

He nodded slowly. "...Yes. But that isn't important. What matters is getting out of this disgraceful little hole you've gotten yourself stuck in."

Suddenly behind him, I heard the ground rumbling, and a familiar red eye shone out of the darkness. The golem rose to its feet and stepped forward, a low growl echoing within it. It stared down at us, the heart beating steadily.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

"Look who decided to wake up!" Maceren quipped, adopting a battle stance with his back foot splayed out behind him while he grasped his massive mace. "Stand behind me, you two. Unless you can fight in your miserable conditions?"

Arius snarled at him. "You have quite a large mouth for someone who can't seem to get rid of a pest!"

"Shut up, Arius!" I snapped. "Mace, I'd gladly help, but I'm afraid my magic has been having a hard time coming to me as of late. I'll do what I can."

He nodded briskly. "As you wish, little maiden." He dashed forward towards the golem. It gave a loud bellow that shook the cavern to its roots as it stomped forward, the claws of the monster carving new valleys into the floor.

Maceren leaped into the air, and to my surprise I saw something glowing at the base of where his tail should've been. Then a dazzling electric blue light materialized, hardening into a glowing chain with a massive mace at the end. Small embers of blue fire flew from the magic mace-tail, and he flipped in the air, bringing it down into the golem's arm.

"Gragghhh!" The monster bellowed and stumbled, and Maceren landed deftly, wielding his new tail with ease. "Missed!" He muttered, swinging his tail experimentally.

Arius snorted beside me. "Looks like he might need some help." Before I could stop him, he ran forward, following the mysterious aetyr while brandishing his poison blade. The eerie green glow clashed with the fiery scarlet light emanating from the golem's heart and the electric blaze from Maceren's impromptu tail.

I noticed that Arius' eyes were glowing vibrantly, yet he was following Maceren's fighting pattern rather than the golem directly. I realized that meant that, as long as he was using his magic, he couldn't see the golem.

Arius leaped into the air and swung his blade, crashing down towards the golem's hulking mass. Unfortunately for him, it saw him coming, and it swung a massive claw, flinging him to the side.

"Argh!" My brother crumpled to the floor and laid there, shivering.

Behind him, Maceren paused. "Simpleton!" He muttered, shaking his head. "Fatalities are far worse than a thousand enemies. Stay behind battle lines and let me do my work."

The golem surged forward with unexplainable speed, and before Maceren could turn, it was making contact with him. It brought down a huge foot, crushing him beneath it.

"MACEREN!" I screamed. I dashed forward, but stopped when the golem turned to face me. Its single eye glowed menacingly, growing brighter and brighter as it stared. Suddenly I realized that it was somehow summoning a fireball, ready to hurl it at me.

I stood there, transfixed as the fireball steadily grew. I knew I had to run or do something, but I couldn't get myself to move.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

Victin's screams echoed in my ears.

"Oh, death take me! End my suffering!"

Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

I couldn't save him.

I let him die.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

I let Maceren die.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

The golem let out a loud roar and let the fireball loose, and it barreled straight towards me. I felt my fur become scorched as I prepared to welcome the sweet embrace of death.

I failed everyone.

And then I felt something rise inside me. It was a familiar force, and before I knew it I realized that unimaginable power was surging through my veins.

The fireball was about to consume me. I stretched out a hand and yelled, "Shield of diamonds, guard me and make yourself the hand of the gods!"

Instantly a clear light enveloped me, and the flames engulfed me. Yet I felt nothing. No heat, no pain. The fire blazed and passed right through me.

I stood and faced the monster, feeling ecstasy flowing through my veins.

"Dukalis… you're back."

At your service, Aven.

I cracked my knuckles, feeling strength returning to me. "It's about time. Let's make this monster pay."

Magic surged through me, and I dashed forward, crying out, "Wings of pride and glory, don't fail me now, in my darkest hour!" Instantly I rose into the air and soared towards the monster, fiery blue wings tinged with magenta and violet sprouting out of my shoulders.

The golem roared and began summoning more fireballs, hurling them in my direction. I flew and dodged, twisting and turning. I swooped under its feet and held out a hand. "Beast of Illusion, come to my aid!" A great electric blue form with fiery maroon tips flew from my fingertips, forming into a great phoenix.

The bird of fire dove towards the monster, colliding with its eye. The monster roared and swiped at it, yet it dodged and dove again.

While it was attacking, I flew to the ground to meet Arius. He weakly opened his eyes, then they flew open with shock. "Aven!" He yelped. "You have magic again?"

I nodded. "Listen. Let me heal you so that we can leave safely."

Behind me, I heard an unusual presence. "No need. I will take care of him."

I whirled around. "Maceren! But… you died!"

The handsome aetyr shook his head. "Nay. I phased through the floor with the help of Spectral magic and briefly recovered." Then he looked me up and down, then turned to see the phoenix I had created attacking the golem. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Miss Aven! You… How are you attacking the monster? You're using Sorcerer's magic!"

"What's wrong with that?"

"The golem is immune to all forms of Sorcerer's arts. That is how your brother here couldn't see him with his seeking magic. Birth magic is the same as Sorcerer magic." He gave me a closer look. "...And the only form that can harm the monster is Spectral magic. Miss Aven, do you mean to tell me that you are in reality a Mage?"

Before I could respond, Arius snapped. "Quit babbling, you two, and let's get a move on! I have a feeling the magic bird or whatever Aven summoned won't hold off the golem for long."

He was right. The phoenix was gradually becoming more convoluted, flames scattering across the cavern as the golem tore it apart with its claws.

"Right. Mace, can we get out the way you came?"

He shook his head with amusement. "Nay. I used Spectral magic and phased through the walls to descend to the pits of Hell- or what you rather prefer to call 'the Dungeons'."

"It's pretty much Hell down here," Arius muttered. "Fine. Any other ideas, genius?"

Maceren glanced at me. "Miss Aven, I have no idea how you managed to complete Sorcerer's spells with Spectral magic, but I'm going to need your help. Are you able to fly us to the top of the waterfall?"

I took a step back. "How can I carry you two?"

"You only need to worry about your brother here." He patted Arius' shoulder and my brother swatted at him with a hiss. "He seems like he hasn't eaten in quite some time, so it should be fairly easy. I can ascend the walls myself."

I nodded. "Fine."

Suddenly behind us, the golem gave a low bellow. We turned to find it battered and scarred, yet it was still standing strong. It towered over us, a low rumble emanating from its chest.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

I spread my wings again and grabbed Arius' wrists, then flew into the air, spiraling towards the endless top. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Maceren ascending the walls, his form slightly see-through as his claws expertly grasped every nook in the dark stone. It was like watching a ghost rock-climb.

Below us, I could see a faint red light that gradually grew brighter. I knew instantly what it was: Either the golem was following us, or it was charging another stream of fireballs.

But it didn't fire. Instead it grew brighter and brighter until it felt like someone had brought the sun to earth.

The golem was going to blow up the entrance before we could reach it alive.

"Faster!" I yelled, flapping rapidly to gain greater height. Beside me, it seemed like Maceren was floating instead of climbing. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Yet he had so many secrets that I couldn't really tell.

Suddenly I could see a faint light above us. A small indigo speck the size of a pin was rapidly growing larger and larger, and I knew that it was the exit.

Then I could feel a growing warmness throughout the cavern, and the fiery red light grew brighter and brighter. A loud crack echoed in my ears. The golem had released its fireball.

"We're almost there!" I screamed, soaring to the ceiling.

Then a bright flame enveloped us, and the last thing I saw was Maceren's agile form diving towards me as we were engulfed by fire and echoes.

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I felt someone prodding my chest, and I opened my eyes to find myself in a place that wasn't so dark. I felt drained. Above me, the stars glittered dimly among a whole tapestry of night skies.

I sat up with effort and saw Maceren beside me. "Miss Aven!" He beamed at me. "You're awake. Excellent."

"Where's Arius?" I mumbled. I blinked a few times and saw that we were at the base of a large hill lined with stone buildings, and a mile away or so I could see smoke pillaring in the distance.

"Right here." My brother crawled out from behind Maceren and stared at me with wide eyes. "Are you okay, Aven?"

"I'm fine." I grunted with effort then paused as Maceren placed a hand on my shoulder. He murmured a few words and suddenly all tiredness faded from my body.

"Thanks, Mace." I rose to my feet. "We're… alive."

"We did it." Arius agreed.

"Miss Aven, this is all very well, but didn't your Prince permit you to bring along escorts?" Maceren asked. "Who and where are they? It is close to dawn. We must be moving."

I nodded slowly. "...Follow me."