Sebastian knew it.
For weeks, people had been trying to convince him that Makaela had betrayed them. That she was the enemy. That the girl he once knew was gone and never coming back. And he had just started to believe them. He had been turning his attention to Imogen. For the past few weeks, her loyalty to him had never wavered.
Makaela had slowly been fading away into a bittersweet memory in the back of his mind.
Then she saved them. She saved him. She stepped up when they needed her the most
Sebastian never truly let go of the hope he held out for her. He knew the Makaela he knew was still in there—somewhere. She wasn't truly lost. No one believed him then. They had no choice but to believe him now.
Makaela saved his life. Now it was time for him to return the favor.
It was clear she had gotten stronger under the teachings of his father, but she wouldn't be able to handle Thorian on her own. She needed help.
His help.
They would defeat his father together.
But before he could help her, he and his friends needed to escape the dilapidated cathedral being used as a base for the Order of the Black Lotus.
"Come on!" he yelled over the sounds of heavy footsteps. He didn't need to look behind him to know they were being chased. Footsteps and shouts echoed behind him. The loud noises ricocheted off the walls like knockback spells. If they slowed down just a little bit, they would be caught.
Gritting his teeth, Sebastian forced himself to run faster.
As he skidded around a corner, nearly toppling over in the process, he realized escaping the building would only lead him to more enemies. His group was also hopelessly outnumbered; there was no way they would win that battle. Not without help. But there was no way to get word to Naidini's forces, most of which were stuck in the city or the Great Tree.
Shaking his head, Sebastian continued running down the hall with his friends right behind him.
They would figure that out later. For now, they needed to get outside.
"We're almost there!"
The exit doors loomed at the end of the hallway. Sebastian's eyes widened. His heart rate sped up. Freedom was so close. Just a few steps—
Out the corner of his eye, Sebastian spotted violet wisps of magic crawling along the brick walls of the corridor. He slowed up, allowing Jorgen and the Eldai to pass him by as he turned around. A Shade stood at the other end with their fingers twirling in the air. Their purple mark glowed fiercely in their palm.
A shiver slid down Sebastian's spine. He recognized the spell the Shade was trying to perform.
Remy stopped at his side with his brow raised. "Why'd you stop? Let's go."
"Wait—"
His warning was cut short by both walls ahead of him imploding.
Remy was flung to the side with a surprised yelp. The force of the sudden blast sent Sebastian crashing to the ground. In an instant, he found himself laid out on the cracked floor with a few bricks weighing down his chest. Coughing, he pushed them off of his body and waved away the clouds of dust hanging over him. Pain flared in his arms and chest, but he tried his best to ignore it.
He had a feeling he would have to fight soon.
After lifting his head, he spotted the massive pile of shrapnel and broken chunks of the walls standing before him. The entire section of the corridor the Shade had exploded collapsed. He couldn't even see the exit on the other side. A fire was beginning to spread along the barrier as well. Smoke lifted into the air and mixed with the dust clouds.
Sebastian gulped as he got back to his feet.
They were trapped.
On the bright side, no one had been caught in the destruction. His friends, except for Remy and Imogen—who was being helped to her feet by the younger boy—had safely made it to the other side.
All Sebastian needed to do was figure out a way to get there himself.
That was easier said than done, though.
Groaning, he turned around and faced the Shades and Osedan guards approaching him. There were about seven of them in total. More would be joining them soon.
He glanced at Remy and Imogen. They both looked dazed and shaken. And, to make matters worse, neither of them was skilled in combat magic. Remy barely knew how to fight and Imogen just found out she could do magic.
We're screwed.
He turned his attention back to the Shades closing in on them. There was only one way out of this situation.
"What do we do?" Imogen asked.
"We fight."
Nodding, the Ordinaire reached for her hip. A scowl marred her lips once she realized she had been stripped of her sword. She looked at Sebastian again. This time, he could see the fear in her eyes.
"Remember what I taught you," he told her, referencing their short magic lesson before leaving for Vashara. "Keep your hand movements tight. Envision what you want to do, then execute it."
Imogen's gaze flickered to the magicians across from them. Her hands shook at her sides. "What if...what if I can't do it? What if it doesn't work?"
"You have to. Or else we're going to die."
"I don't know what you two are talking about," Remy interrupted, "but we don't have time for it." He summoned his vayrir—a solid gold playing card with the joker's insignia on one side and the sun on the other.
One of the Shades chuckled. "You're going to fight us with a playing card? No wonder why House Lumai died so easily."
"This is going to be easier than I thought," another said cockily.
Remy smirked. "Who said anything about fighting?"
Sebastian squinted at him. What is he doing?
"Trust me," the curly-haired boy told him. "I got this."
Before Sebastian could protest, the boy threw his metal card onto the ground. A quiet clang echoed throughout the hall. He then held out both of his hands, upturned his palms, and raised them to the ceiling. He concluded by bringing his hands together and spreading his fingers.
The Shades and Osedan guards watched in intrigue as a wall rose out of Remy's vayrir. It was fractured and uneven like a broken mirror. Distorted and enlarged reflections of the magicians on the other side danced along the translucent surface. Sebastian could see them banging on the wall and blasting it with their magic.
"What is that?" Imogen asked.
"Mirror wall charm. My vayrir helps me with casting deception magic," Remy said proudly. "It won't hold them for long, though. We need to get out of here. Fast."
Sebastian glanced at the flaming barrier behind them. "Not sure if you noticed, but we're kind of trapped."
He pressed his lips into a tight line. "Right... Anyone got any ideas?'
"I...I might."
Both Sebastian and Remy turned to Imogen.
"No offense, Immi, but unless you're planning on pulling all those bricks out," Remy said, "then I have a feeling whatever idea you have won't work."
She ignored him and approached the flaming pile of bricks blocking their escape. Behind them, Sebastian could see Remy's temporary distraction weakening with every blow inflicted upon its glass-like surface. He looked back to Imogen.
Is she going to cast?
His thought was immediately shut down, as Imogen then asked, "Can you blast a hole in this part of the wall?" She pointed at the slab of brick to their right.
He blinked a few times before answering. "I mean...I can try. Blasting spells aren't exactly my forte."
"Well, just do it."
"Er, we don't know what's on the other side of that wall. What if it's a room full of more Shades and guards? What if it doesn't even lead anywhere?" Remy argued.
"Well, I don't see you suggesting anything."
"Would you rather stay here then?" Imogen asked.
Remy stroked his chin. "Touché."
She faced Sebastian. "Do it."
Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. He turned to the wall on his right and held a hand-out toward it. He bent his fingers, performing the blasting spell's crude sequence; like the Obscurin arts, destruction magic was practiced with rigid hand and finger movements. Those two disciplines were his least favorite to study.
Within seconds, he could feel the vitalae rushing through his arm and towards his hand.
A shock of orange magic shot out from his palm and collided into the brick wall. Dust billowed and bricks fell to the ground. Coughing, he shielded his mouth and nose. He squinted at the wall and spotted a decent-sized hole had been blasted through it. While it wasn't big enough for them to walk through, they could fit by crawling.
It was going to be a tight squeeze, though. But it was the only escape they had.
"Huh. That worked."
"I knew it would."
Sebastian glanced over his shoulder. Remy's mirror barrier was beginning to break away. The Shades would get past it soon. He turned his attention back to the newly created crawlspace before him.
"Let's move."
#
Sebastian was starting to regret leaving the hallway.
At least his odds were better in there.
The outside of the cathedral was utter chaos. Jorgen, Ajax, Siren, and the surviving Eldai were all battling Thorian's forces around the Order's base. Magic exploded all around Sebastian, the bright lights charging the air with energy. Flames and chunks of broken wall littered the dry grass populating the land around the cathedral.
Osedan magicians and Shades alike worked in tandem to push back the small group of Eldai. Redfangs barked and snarled as they backed a few Eldai into a corner. The battlemages were holding their own, but it was clear to see they wouldn't be able to for much longer. They would eventually be overrun.
And when that happened, it would be over for them.
Everything they fought and bled and died for would be for nothing.
We can't lose, he told himself. We can't.
Clenching his jaw, Sebastian surged into battle. A pair of Shades sprinted toward him, their hands blazing with magic. He cursed and quickly conjured a shield charm, deflecting two stunning spells in the process. They ricocheted around him and exploded into plumes of light. The Shades weren't letting up, though.
Cursing loudly, Sebastian dove behind a crumbling wall and pressed his back against the cracked bricks. Heaving, he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to catch his breath.
He wasn't dead yet. As long as he was still alive, there was still hope.
Peeking around the wall, he spotted two masked Shades approaching him with their casting hands raised. They both were twisting their fingers and rotating their wrists in a synchronized fashion. His eyes widened as he saw their marks brightened.
He recognized the sequences very well.
He rolled out from behind his hiding place before they could unleash their fury upon him. Gritting his teeth, he focused his vitalae into both his hands. He crossed his index finger over his middle and pushed.
The two Shades were forced into the air with a surprised yelp. Instead of falling, they remained suspended above the ground like puppets on strings. Sebastian grinned as he watched them flail around.
"Put us down, traitor!" one of them yelled pushing their robes out their face.
"How about...no?"
Sebastian didn't stick around to hear their response. As much as he would like to stick around and taunt his former compatriots, he still had a job to do.
He spun around, his shaggy hair flying about his face. Through the chaos, he spotted Ajax and Siren keeping a trio of Redfangs at bay. The ginger battle mage gripped his vayrir with both hands and swung wildly at the nearest werewolf. Beside him, Siren pulled the water from the nearby trees and formed them into pointed icicles.
With his feet pounding the earth, Sebastian barreled toward them.
He had the element of surprise. The wolves wouldn't see him until he got close enough. By then, it would already be too late. There was no way they would be able to—
He skidded to a stop. All the confidence that had been filling him up vanished into the air.
One of the wolves had its crimson eyes right on him like laser-dot sights. In the blink of an eye, the beast was on top of him. Sebastian cried out as he hit the grass. His heart thumped in his chest as he did everything in his power to keep the wolf's teeth from tearing off his face. The creature's hot breath—which reeked of stale blood—assaulted his nostrils Warm saliva speckled his face.
Scrunching his face, he recoiled and drove a knee into the creature's stomach. It didn't budge. The attack only made it angrier.
Sebastian swiftly moved his head to the side, saving his left ear in the process. The wolf growled and went for his face again. His body struggled beneath the weight of the beast, but he kept pushing. He couldn't afford to let up. Not even a little bit.
The werewolf continued gnashing its teeth at him. However, its aggressiveness allowed Sebastian to lift his forearm and pressed it into the wolf's neck. After summoning his vayrir, he jammed it into the side of the beast's throat. A pained cry left its maw before it collapsed onto its side.
Sebastian scrambled to his feet with his eyes wide. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He rubbed his nose, which had nearly been ripped off. Breathing heavily, he fought to regain his composure.
It almost got him. He had been just a few inches away from death. Blood rushed in his ears.
Behind him, Ajax dispatched the other two wolves with the help of a few ice arrows from Siren.
"You good?' Ajax furrowed his brows at him.
"I'm great. He glanced at the fallen Redfang. Scowling, he ripped his gaze away from and pointed it towards the battle going on around him.
His brows furrowed as he scanned the field. Jorgen and his Eldai were taking on most of the enemies with Remy and Imogen supporting wherever they could. However, Sebastian didn't see Naidini anywhere.
Had she fled back to the city? Perhaps she left them to fend for themselves.
He shook his head. The chieftain of House Oseda wouldn't have done that to them. Much like House Brynjir, Osedans prided themselves on being honorable and strong-willed. Cowardice wasn't in their nature.
Still, that didn't explain why Naidini wasn't fighting with them.
"What's wrong?" Siren asked him.
"The chieftain. She's not here..."
Ajax squinted as he rested on the hilt of his half-axe half-hammer hybrid of a weapon. "You're right. I don't see her."
Huffing, Sebastian decided to forget about it for now. While Naidini's prowess in battle could've helped tipped the scales in their favor, it was clear they would have to carry on without her.
"We can't just stand around," he told his friends. "The others need our help."
"What if she's in trouble?" Siren inquired.
"In case you haven't noticed, we're the ones in trouble."
"Fair enough."
Ajax shook his head. "We need a plan of action. We're never going to win this fight if we're all split up like this. We need to round everyone up and—"
"Watch out!" someone yelled.
The trio of young magicians spun around to see orange flames erupting from the hands of three Shades. The fire quickly spread across the ground, burning the tall, dry grass as it sought to demolish anything its path. Smoke rose into the air. The blue sky was quickly turning black with ash. Coughing, Sebastian backed away from the fire and covered his face with the sleeve of his shirt.
"They're forcing us in a circle!" Ajax called over the flames.
Sebastian glanced around himself. The big ginger was right. A ring of fire had been set off in the area they had been standing in. Remy, Imogen, Jorgen, and the rest of the surviving Eldai had been trapped in the blaze as well. The Shades, Redfangs, and rogue Osedan soldiers remained on the outside, their masks and faces being bathed with light from the crackling flames.
"Siren," Sebastian asked while stomping on a swatch of burning grass near his shoe. "Can you kill these flames?"
She shook her head. Her blue eyes were filled with tears, likely caused by the fumes filling the air around them. Coughing, she raised her hands and attempted to perform a spell. Weak sparks of blue light left her fingers before vanishing into nothingness. "I...I can't. There's not enough moisture in the air and I'm too far away from the trees to use them." She kept trying, but nothing happened.
Sebastian wheezed. His lungs felt like they had been doused in hellfire from the pits of Nordor. The smoke wormed its way into his throat like a deadly parasite. His vision wavered as he staggered backward.
Around him, he could see the rest of his group were feeling the effects of the inferno as well.
"We need to put the fire out," he coughed out.
Ahead of him, he could see a Shade stepping towards the ring of flames. They parted the fire with a spell and stepped through the newly made opening. Sebastian gulped as he watched the dark magician approach him.
"You're scum," the Shade spat. "Death is all you deserve, traitor."
Sebastian's lip curled at their remark. With one hand covering his nose and mouth, he pointed the other at the magician.
Just as the Shade was about to unleash a spell, the fire around them flattened to the ground as a massive gale of wind passed around them. Sebastian dropped to his knees and ducked his head. Smoke, ash, and fire swirled around him, clouding his sight and filling his ears with the sound of crackling embers and angry winds.
What is this?
He lifted his head slightly and spotted a figure on the other end of the battlefield. They held an amber amulet in their hand. Their armor was decorated with tiger print stripes and bronze platers.
Sebastian's eyes widened.
"Naidini."
The woman walked forward. As she got closer to the disoriented magicians in the center of the battlefield, the amulet in her hand morphed into an ornamental horn decorated with gold, leather straps, and pieces of ivory. Before any Shades, Redfangs, or soldiers could rush her, she brought the horn to her lips.
Then she blew.
A deafening blare ripped through the air. The leaves of the trees framing Ingozi rippled with the force of the horn's blast. Sebastian clamped his hands over his ears and grit his teeth. Those around him did the same.
Jorgen, who happened to be the closest to Naidini, stumbled toward her. "What was that?!"
"A call for help."
The general nodded at her before turning to his men. "Huddle up and hold the line!"
"Yes, sir!" they shouted back.
Sebastian scrambled to his feet and joined the rest of his group in the center of the field. Ajax and Siren joined him at his side. Imogen and Remy arrived shortly after. Sebastian felt a wave of relief after seeing the Ordinaire. She was still alive and in one piece—apart from the cut on her cheek.
"You alright?" he asked her.
She nodded and grinned. "Never better."
He smiled back at her before turning his attention back to the enemies surrounding them. The werewolves snarled and barked. The Shades summoned their vayrirs and prepared spells to decimate them on the spot. The Osedan soldiers jabbed their spears at the circle of magicians, their helmets glinting with the marigold light from the evening sun.
Sebastian and his group conjured shield charms to protect themselves from the onslaught of attacks being thrown at them from every direction. The Eldai were doing well with keeping their adversaries at bay, but Sebastian could see the gaps in their defensives. There weren't enough of them to keep up this strategy. Eventually, someone would break through their lines.
And once one did, the rest would follow.
Sebastian swatted a bolt of dark magic to the side and retaliated with a blast of his own. It found its mark in the chest of an Osedan soldier, but another one stepped forward and took their place.
He cursed.
"There's too many!" he yelled. He glanced at Naidini, who had just shifted out of her tiger state. Sweat dripped from her brow and her eyes were low.
"Where's that help you called?!" Jorgen yelled.
"They're coming!" Naidini replied.
Jorgen grunted. With his dreads flailing around his head, he swung his battle-axe at a werewolf leaping toward him. The crescent blade lodged itself in the beast's chest cavity with a sickening thud. Blood splattered his face, barely visible against his dark complexion.
With both hands wrapped around the handle of his vayrir, Jorgen pressed his boot into the wolf's midsection and pushed. The creature dropped to the ground in a heap of fur and blood. Sebastian cringed at the site.
"They're coming!" Naidini replied. She twisted her fingers in the air, calling upon the branches of the trees nearby. She strung up a few Shades in the air and imprisoned them in a cage of branches and leaves. However, their jail cell had been burned away almost instantaneously with dark magic. "At least I hope they are."
Sebastian looked to the forest as he moved deeper into the circle his group had formed. The fatigue was beginning to set in, and he wasn't sure how much vitalae he had left in his reserves. Judging by the splitting headache assaulting the base of his skull, it couldn't have been much.
He needed to rest. And soon. The fighting around him wasn't letting up, though. If he kept casting, he would eventually exhaust all of his vitalae and collapse on the spot.
This isn't good.
A spell tore the air.
It zipped by him. His shirt sleeve rippled in the air as it went by. Sebastian followed its trajectory until it collided into the shoulder of the Eldai beside him. The battlemage cried out and dropped to their knee. Their left arm hung uselessly at their side. A pained look covered their face. Sweat dripped down their brow.
Out the corner of his eye, Sebastian spotted another stunning spell racing toward them. He stepped in front of the downed soldier and raised a shield charm. However, the shield's once vibrant purple light had been reduced to a dull lavender. The black-haired magician's throat constricted as he struggled to hold it up.
He was running out of magic.
With a grunt, he pulled the soldier back to their feet.
"We're not going to make it," they told him. "We're not going to—"
"Shut up," Sebastian hissed while gripping their forearm. "You're alive, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Then keep fighting."
The Eldai swallowed hard. Then they nodded and went back to fighting.
Sebastian looked back to Naidini. Where is that help?
What if her horn hadn't reached the ears of their allies? What if they had heard them but weren't coming to their aid? What if they were truly alone in this battle without any backup?
We're going to die.
"Hold the line, everyone!" Jorgen's strained voice called over the carnage. "Hold the line!" Next to him, one of his soldiers hit the ground. Dead. The general carried on fighting, but the look in his eyes said it all. All the optimism he once held in his commanding voice and stature was gone.
They were fighting a losing battle.
Their quest to stop Thorian and the Order of the Black Lotus was going to die with them.
Sebastian hung his head. Strands of his damp hair fell into his face and stuck to his skin. Knees shaking, he fought desperately to stay upright.
It was over. Everything they fought for was about to go up in flames like the grass he stood on.
He dropped his quivering arms to his sides.
Just a few yards away from him, an Osedan soldier was preparing to through a bronze spear at him. However, the weapon never left their hand, as they swiftly turned around to face the forest behind them. Everyone else did the same.
A low rumbling sounded within the trees. The leaves swayed. Birds left their nests and fled for the smoke-filled heavens. Through the ash-filled sky, Sebastian could see the sun peeking through.
He shifted his gaze to the forest.
The rumbling grew louder with each passing second. Silhouettes appeared between the tall trees and thick underbrush. Sebastian could see the sunlight reflecting off weapons in the distance. Shouts and hollers and battle cries soon filled the air.
His eyes widened. He turned to Imogen. The two them nodded at each other.
"Is that what I think it is?" someone asked.
"Yes," Naidini said as she stepped forward with a proud smile on her tired face. "Yes, it is."
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