What Once Was One (Book 2) Read online

  “I know, Hellsfire,” she said, hugging me tightly. “It’s good to be with you too. There’s someone here I want you to meet.”

  I gazed into her loving green eyes. She swiveled her head in another direction. A shadowy figure approached from behind one of the oak trees. I let go of my mother and turned to face the mysterious visitor.

  “Hello, Hellsfire,” a man said.

  “Who are you?”

  “You know who I am.”

  He unsheathed a beautiful dagger from his belt. It was the one my mother had given to me, and she had received it from her husband. I reached to my waist and my dagger was gone. My mother let me go and moved over to the man. She wrapped her right arm around him and leaned into him.

  “Father?” I asked. I had never seen my father before. He died a hero in the Burning Sands before I was born.

  “Yes, Hellsfire,” he said, and nodded.

  “How is this possible? You’re dead.”

  “Remember where you are. Anything’s possible here.”

  But I couldn’t remember. I rubbed my hand against my head. My mind was blank. The harder I tried to think about it, the more my head hurt. I took a step closer to see his face, but I still couldn’t make him out. The shadows draped his face.

  “Hellsfire, you’ve been given a chance,” my mother said as she snuggled up against my father.

  “A chance?” I wiped my sweaty palm against my pounding head. “A chance for what?”

  “A chance to be with your family,” my father said. “To get what was denied to all of us. We can be together.” He placed his firm hand on my shoulder. His dark brown eyes had the same look to them as mine. Yet no matter how close he was, I couldn’t make out his face.

  “I…I…” I tried to say no, ask why or how, to formulate some kind of words, but my dry mouth wouldn’t let me. There was only one phrase that stood clear in the canvas of my mind. Something I had wanted since I was a child. “I want nothing more than to be a family.” My mind eased from the pain the moment I said that.

  “Then let’s be one, son.”

  My parents embraced me. The heavens surrounded me, radiating with love. The stress and tension melted away. I was finally free. There was no more responsibility, no more worrying about the future, about my destiny, about things far too big for only one man. I cried, but they were tears of joy.

  “Come on, son,” my father said. “Let’s go.”

  “Where are we going, Daddy?” I looked up at him. He was a giant. My small hand was palmed in his.

  My father lifted me up, putting me on his shoulders. He pointed to a bright light through the trees. The tiny star was a short distance away. It reminded me of something—something I had seen before, but I couldn’t remember what. I let go of that thought, rocking back and forth on my father’s shoulders, smiling at being on top of the world.

  “We’re going over there so we can be together,” he said.

  “What’s over there?” I asked.

  “A special place.”

  “Let’s go,” my mother said as she grabbed my father’s free hand.

  We walked to where we would become a family. I giggled and laughed while riding my dad’s shoulders. The grass around us stood up straighter and the flowers bloomed to their fullest. I even heard the sounds of birds off in the distance.

  The bright light mesmerized me and the love and joy of my parents comforted me. I was no longer going to be alone.

  I looked back down the path we’d traveled. The scenery and light had disappeared, replaced by darkness. There was something I was forgetting. No, not something, someone important and special to me, but I couldn’t remember who.

  That didn’t matter now. I turned my head away from it and towards the bright light. The warmth from it was intense, but not dangerous. I stared at the light and it reminded me of a glistening gem. Not a gem, but a crystal.

  “Krystal,” I whispered.

  Just as we were about to enter paradise, a powerful and beautiful image of the woman I cared about more than the world ripped through my head. If I vanished with my family, I would never see Krystal again.

  I yelled out in pain, putting my hands to my head. My father put me down. Memories of Krystal and all the time we had spent together flooded my mind. They clashed against the hope and joy of being with my family again. They became a relentless storm, threatening to make my head explode.

  “We’ve got to do something!” my mother said, reaching for me. I tried to go to her, but my body wouldn’t obey. It kept squirming and twisting.

  “Son,” my father said in a calm voice, “if we go to the light, everything will be fine. I promise.”

  I glanced up at my father, wanting to speak. I couldn’t because of the pain.

  The two conflicting thoughts hammered me. I wasn’t sure I could survive it until Krystal said, “Hellsfire!”

  Her word exploded the fire within, burning my mind and soul. They shredded my entire being, altering my body to what it once was. I remembered who I was and what I was supposed to do.

  “I’m a wizard,” I whispered. I rose and faced my parents.

  “Come with us,” Mother said. “Please.” Her green eyes brimmed with tears.

  “Yes,” Father said. “We can live happily ever after.”

  My heart yearned to be with them. I wanted so much to be a family and have that which was denied to me. “I want to...but I can’t.” My shoulders slumped and I could no longer meet their eyes.

  I had to live in the present and not be lost in something that couldn’t be, no matter how real it seemed. I was a wizard. I couldn’t disregard my responsibilities to the world. That’s not what Stradus had taught me—or my mother. I had to help my friends and I couldn’t leave Krystal behind.

  I tried to meet my parents’ gaze. “I’m sorry, I can’t go with you.”

  “Why not, Hellsfire?” my mother asked.

  “There’s...a girl.”

  “Who?”

  “The Princess of Alexandria.”

  “Ah,” my mother said. She paused as she considered her words. “You realize you may never be together. She’s a princess and you’re a wizard. Her people may never accept you.”

  I sighed. “I know. She has a duty and is out of my league, but—” I looked into my mother’s eyes. “I still have to try.”

  “That’s my son,” my father said, and smiled. I returned it. “You must care for her a great deal, Hellsfire.”

  “I do.”

  “Good.”

  “There are also some things I still have to do.”

  “Then you do them,” my father said. “You do what you have to. I’m sure we’ll be together again. One day.” He walked over to me and handed me his precious dagger. “Hold on to this. You’re going to need it like I once did.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He smiled at me. “Don’t worry about it now. I know you’ll make me proud, son.” He settled his hand on my shoulder and touched his forehead to mine.

  My voice drowned in tears caught in my throat.

  My mother leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “Goodbye, son.”

  The stinging tears dripped down my face as I watched the two go into the light. They turned and smiled at me before disappearing. Everything around me vanished and shimmered out of existence. There was no more pond, trees, flowers, or even light. I was all alone in the void. All alone to face my destiny. I collapsed to the ground, the darkness overtaking me.

  ----

  Screams and yells rattled in my ears, jolting me awake. The landscape of my home was gone, replaced with the bleakness of the Wastelands. I staggered up and gasped at the sight of my friends.

  Prastian, Behast, Ardimus, and Krystal battled against a behemoth monster as gigantic as a fifteen foot tree. Its multiple, thick arms fought with unnatural quickness, dodging and blocking their blows. Its six eyes moved independently and locked onto each person like a lizard. The reddish brute even hurled beginner elemental spells, f
linging fireballs similar to mine.

  What were they doing here?

  “They came to save you,” my doppelganger said, appearing next to me. “Unfortunately for them, none of them are wizards, so they had to fight a creation of my own.”

  I stared at my friends, trying to decide if what Renak said was true. I shook my head to clear the fog. Their movements were so fluid while they handled their weapons. The sounds of battle that resonated were so real.

  “No, this isn’t real,” I said.

  “The two elves are already protected by your spell and the man has his enchanted chainmail,” Renak said. “As for your princess, you underestimate how much she cares for you, and she has the blood of Alexander in her veins.”

  “What does that mean?”

  Renak stared at the creature and the battle while anger rippled through his face for the briefest of moments. “Stories have basis in truth, Hellsfire, but over time that truth becomes distorted. Yes, Alexander may have sided with Shala in the fight against me and a dragon carried him, but he wasn’t the ordinary man the stories have painted him. He was a magical...anomaly. He was able to do things with magic, despite lacking his own power. I was never able to find out more—or maybe I did, after this ritual.” His eyes settled on me for a long moment before looking back at the battle. “Should you really be focusing on things long ago, or more current concerns?

  “Time flows different in here, Hellsfire. Not much has passed for you, but plenty has passed in the outside world. The elves took care of that wizard who’s squatting in my tower, but they had no chance to escape Masep without you. This princess of yours got tired of waiting.” Renak put a thoughtful finger underneath his chin. “I do wonder how many people died in order for her to enter the tower?”

  I couldn’t trust Renak. I couldn’t trust for this to be real. He was responsible for the war, the Wastelands, the Great Barrier and the spreading blight. But what if he was right? I stared past him to see my friends fighting.

  Krystal led the fray, not wanting to back down. For a moment, our eyes met and my heart knew it to be her. I had gotten lost in those enchanting eyes many times. Magical or not, there was no way the nexus could imitate her eyes. I left the copycat and rushed to help Krystal and my friends.

  I ran as fast as my long legs could carry me. I reached the battle just as the creature puffed out a long stream of flames. I raised my hand, halting the fire.

  Krystal blew a piece of loose hair out of her face and gave me a small smile. I knew that smile. It was her. “Thank the gods I found you in time.” She raised her sword and parried one of the monster’s arms, cutting it. It bellowed in pain.

  I guarded her flank while Ardimus defended her other side. Behast was in front and Prastian was behind us, shooting his arrows at the monster. A few had pierced its thick hide.

  I summoned my magic, unleashing a torrent of fire and flame. The creature held its arms together, blocking its face. A dull sheen of magic glowed around it. When I stopped the fire, it smiled. It was unharmed.

  I gathered in more mana, readying myself to strike with a harder spell, when the creature turned its head towards me. Its yellow eyes flashed and it spoke in a strange, foreign tongue. Its spell breached my defenses and I cried out in pain. I toppled to the ground, a surge of agony coursing throughout my body. It bound me into place and I couldn’t move.

  “Hellsfire!” Krystal said.

  The monster grinned and renewed its attack.

  “Princess,” Ardimus said, “Guard Hellsfire. We’ll keep the creature occupied.”

  Ardimus and Behast held off the creature with their swords while Prastian tried to find a weak spot with his bow.

  Krystal knelt down and leaned over me. “Hellsfire, what can I do?”

  I couldn’t answer. I accessed my magic, trying to cast it, but my body stiffened. I sought to cry out against the pressure on my spine. Yellow sparks of magic sizzled around my body. I latched onto my fire, pushing past the pain, using it to combat the monster’s magic. I motioned with my eyes to the princess.

  She nodded. “I understand.” She laid her hand gently on my heart. “I didn’t come all this way to lose you, hero.”

  My fingers twitched. My magic had begun to overwhelm the creature’s, but I needed more time.

  “I’ll buy you time,” she said.

  I wanted to tell her not to, that the others would take care of it, but I couldn’t. I screamed in pain as my muscles fought against each other. I was useless. As I struggled to recover, I could only watch in horror as my friends battled Renak’s beast.

  The creature distracted Behast, fighting him with its multiple arms and keeping him off guard. Behast struck the creature and dark red blood oozed from it, but it didn’t matter. Within another fist was a huge fireball. The creature let it go, the magic consuming and burning the elf.

  Prastian’s quiver was empty and he drew his sword. He charged the monster in a blind frenzy. He dodged the beast’s spells and claws. Running up the creature’s massive arm, he leapt about to strike its eyes, but it opened its mouth and spewed a massive fireball, incinerating Prastian.

  I cried out, reaching toward them. My arms moved, but I couldn’t yet rise. I fueled my spell with more magic. In response, the creature’s own spell renewed its furious attack, electrifying my body with a powerful and painful glow. I struggled to sit up, wanting to stand. They needed my help and I wasn’t going to let them down.

  Ardimus had enchanted chain mail, protecting him against magical attacks. The beast’s magic bounced off of him. Ardimus sliced through one of its fireballs, shattering the spell.

  The creature sacrificed one of its hands, plucking away Ardimus’s enchanted scimitar. Ardimus drew a dagger and swiped at it, but the tiny weapon wasn’t enough. I could only stare in horror as it grabbed hold of Ardimus by a leg and an arm. The creature heaved on his limbs and the hardened warrior shrieked in agony as his body snapped in two.

  Krystal screamed as she saw her protector fall to the ground. My power crackled at my fingertips. I staggered up, letting my rage burn away the creature’s magic. The flame encompassed me until I burned like the sun. I stumbled forward and yelled out Krystal’s name, warning her to stay away. I would deal with this creature myself.

  Krystal dropped her sword and retrieved Ardimus’s scimitar. She used the heavy sword as best she could, deflecting the beast’s lunges at her and cutting it. It roared in pain, unable to heal its wounds. Krystal chopped off one of its hands and in return, it sliced off her hand.

  She screamed and dropped Ardimus’s sword, but didn’t slow down or show fear as blood gushed from her wound. With her only remaining hand, she drew her dagger. The creature grinned in anticipation and swiped at Krystal. Its razor claws sliced into her, leaving huge gashes in her side. She spun and fell, her clothes overflowing with her own blood.

  “No!” I yelled.

  I limped along as fast as I could, dragging my numb right leg and arm. I stopped trying to fight the spell, instead using all of my power against the monster. My body stiffened and started to slow down as the thing’s magic renewed itself.

  Before it could bring down the killing blow, I conjured as much wind as I could and blew it at the monster. The wind sliced off its claws and it stumbled backwards. I used my momentum and more air magic to force it to the ground before I barreled into it.

  My body froze again, but not before I unleashed all of my magic into the creature’s gaping mouth. I poured the raging fire into it until its red body could take no more. Its spell on me collapsed. I rolled off it and felt its body threatening to explode.

  The fire ate the creature from the inside. It burned, and its huge body collapsed in on itself until there was nothing left to fuel the fire.

  Krystal’s body twitched and I crawled over to her.

  “Hellsfire,” Krystal said. I strained to hear her weak voice.

  “Shhh, don’t move. I’ll try to heal you.”

  I placed my hands on h
er blood-soaked clothes. The blood was so cold and sticky and she so pale. I turned my head aside so I wouldn’t focus on how badly hurt she was. I reached out to the white mana. It was elusive to me at the best of times, but I couldn’t get more than a flicker here. I didn’t have enough time to gather in all I needed and I was exhausted after warring with that creature.

  “Damn it!” I said. “Come on!”

  But all that came was the roaring fire. I stifled it, not wanting to hurt her. As powerful as it was, it was useless here. My fire couldn’t heal her. I took off my black wizard’s robe to staunch her wound. My robes soaked up far too much of her blood.

  Krystal struggled to raise her remaining bloody hand to my cheek. I nuzzled into it, my face becoming smeared with cold blood. “Why didn’t you save me?” Her violet eyes, always so full of life, dimmed and her hand went limp. Tranquility passed across her face.

  I cradled her dead body in my arms. She was right. I should have saved her. I should have saved them all. Despite having all this power at my fingertips, I was powerless.

  I sat there for a long time with her body against mine. Her sweet smell was gone and her body was so stiff and icy. I pulled away from her, staring at my lifeless friends, their bodies forever motionless.

  I thought about leaving the nexus. So many people had died on this quest of mine. It was all to fulfill my former master’s last request and retrieve a book. I now understood why Stradus had locked himself up in the White Mountain. It wasn’t only to wait for me. It was to hide from the pain of being responsible for people’s deaths, and all the burdens of being a wizard. What would life be like now, without her?

  Could I do what Stradus had done and hide from everything? More importantly, should I? I brought nothing but death and destruction to those around me. I wasn’t Shala, who had mastered the white mana of life. My ability was with fire. It burned and destroyed.

  I sat in the nexus for what seemed like hours. My arms were wrapped around Krystal and I stared at her lifeless body, dark thoughts playing through my head. I had no idea what to do and there was no one I could share my thoughts with as I had with Krystal.

  Krystal’s open eyes stared through me. I gazed within them and even though I found no life, she seemed to be telling me I had a duty to finish. She would have finished it if our roles were reversed. That’s what I’d learned from her. I was going to finish this. I was going to find the Book of Shazul and heal the land, even if it wouldn’t shine as brightly without her.