Chapter 36

Jeremy was in the rear-guard. Instead of sprinting now they were twisting turning slowly through the snake like burrows beneath the surface. They had passed through quickly, not paying heed to the decorated halls and chambers, that turned into caverns and narrow passages. He waited for a moment to draw Amy aside and apologize, try to repair what once was; but alas, he had not the opportunity to speak. Each time he felt he could open his mouth; the circumstances stifled his voice. He was a soldier; he was accustomed to such occurrences, especially during a mission. Nonetheless, it still left him dejected, desperately needing to voice the words, ‘I’m sorry’, but at the time he could not.

Jeremy felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see Lorenn, grinning wryly, whispering, “Don’t worry, she talks about you any chance she gets. How do you humans say, ‘patch things up’? I’m sure that will happen.”.

Jeremy nodded.

Amy looked on with clear eyes, her anger had subsided. Surprise took its place. She glared at her wand, white and pure, yet there was a will contained in it; a will she felt wary of. Why had such emotions flared up in her heart? The man, her man, had risked his life to protect hers. He was one of the reasons she could live the life she had often day dreamed about: a life full of magic and adventure, writing a story of her own, with the ink of life allowed to everyone. She dearly wanted to apologize for her outburst, for when she thought of Jeremy, her chest wasn’t full of sorrow, but joy and longing. But now wasn’t the time. Joy filled her franticly beating heart. He was here, all she needed was to reach out her hands to touch him. He was no longer delegated to being an object of memory a source of yearning; he was present; his voice soothed her ears; his figure was pleasing to her eyes. Yet the circumstances would not allow such a discussion. The lives of many depended on their timely departure, and punctual return. As much as she wanted to stop, reconcile, and continue their relationship. Amy was confident that such an opportunity would come.

Screeech!!!

Amy froze as they all exchanged glances.

Screech!!!!!

The sound grew louder.

With a few practiced gestures Amy scrolled through her collection of apps she had diligently downloaded per Sean's recommendation. She entered the settings for the magelight app on her hud, and increased the brightness with practiced gestures.

Screeechhhh!!!!!

As the light grew, a black cloaked figure was revealed, leaning against the red rock walls of this moderately sized cavern. It withdrew its razor-sharp nails as the stone protested the creature’s sullying touch.

Another vampire, but this one, this one had an aura more intimidating, more burdensome, than the previous one.

“I see you’ve killed my subordinate”, it answered with an indifferent look.

This personality was much different than the ilk they had been confronted with before. Its red eyes sharpened as she focused on Amy. There was little dialogue, no monologue. Its intentions were clearly stated just by her presence. Yes, it was a she. Her form was so beautiful that even Amy felt a certain draw. However, she shook her head, this was a powerful entity. She could feel the dark magic oozing from it, permeating the ground, the walls, filling the space suffocating, seducing those of weaker constitutions.

“I will deal with you first!”, it said then disappeared, merging with the darkness out of reach from the light.

Before Amy could utter a spell, activate an app, or speak a word, Jeremy jumped forward. His instincts flashed in his mind like a bolt of lightning, prompting his muscles to move. He could express himself through his actions. He could apologize by giving his body to protect hers.

Suddenly standing next to Amy, he turned his scabbard sideways, drawing his sword in an upward forward pushing stroke. His blade flashed in the cold darkness, sweeping the air aside. Clang!!! Jeremy groaned as he felt his edge clash with the strong claws, the weight bearing down on him.

‘Blink’, ‘Magic detection’, she thought. Amy jumped away, a few meters. While in the air, spinning she used her mana to gently push Wan and Chan away from her, as she attracted the aggro. She pressed her magic power upon the ground, slowing her descent. The activated sensory app sensed the approach.

Osgur watched as Jeremy faithfully protected Amy. Sparks alighting from the struggle between natural claw, and manufactured metal. With lightning quick judgement, he spread his arms, and retreated with backward steps to the mouth of this space. To secure the opposite exit to maintain their intended direction and destination. As the vanguard, as the leader, the others retreated behind him. It was large enough to move, but in the darkness, he caught the figure, the specter of a flash in the air; the movements to respond could only be utilized if there were only two in the cavern. He would reserve the party’s force, and enter as reinforcement: such was his plan.

“Apparently this isn’t enough. No wonder that foolish idiot died”, the creature spoke as it disappeared again, not a trace except the lingering hunger laden words it left.

Amy could feel Jeremy beside him faithfully repelling its attacks. It had magic to conceal itself, even from her detection. She discerned from the action that this vampire preferred magic as her weapon. Amy’s mind returned to her dreadful training.

‘A battle between magicians is a battle of imagination, a mental confrontation. In order to achieve victory, you most dominate the space with mind and magic’, Liam had lectured her.

Amy stood still. Yes, stillness, was needed.

Jeremy looked in bewilderment as Amy stood unmoving with her eyes closed. He could not predict where the next attack would appear from, but he knew he could respond if he was close. Did she freeze? Stopping in a fight was like suicide. Then he felt it, he felt Amy, it was a gentle feelin, a feeling that gave life to the still air, a feeling that gave warmth to this cold cave. It pushed at the oppressive, desperately starving aura that thoroughly consumed the atmosphere.

Amy’s eyes opened; through the magic she emitted she could feel the force pressing upon her. Sweat trickled down her back, her trained body upheld her stamina, as she pressed upon the aura with equal force. The red magic that filled her attuned vision, suddenly dispersed as if it was never there clinging to the air. It was a sharp sudden control.

Amy waved her wand in a sweeping gesture, “Do Fare!”. Her mind stretched her magic flowing out into a rectangle in front of her. Guiding her magic erupted by the words spoken, into a solid white visible glowing shield.

A disgusting language, was heard beyond the reach of light, in the depths of the darkness. This wasn’t unity; it was degradation; it was decay. Spiteful words emitted a red energy that glowed striking violently against Amy’s shield aimed to tear and rend her boyfriend, who despite her disgusting attitude, faithfully protected her. She would later scold herself thoroughly, and speak with him. Amy focused as she let all her thoughts flow. It was her; she would strive for unity, allowing her thoughts to meld together with her sense of purpose, strengthening her mana.

A white energy projected before him. A chill went down his spine. Red energy filled his vision. Then it turned pink filtered by the white barrier in front of him. The forces collided. The ground shook. Jeremy staggered. The white power, he could feel it was Amy. It was strange sensations that he could not articulate. He glanced back at Amy and was shocked by her serene demeanor. But what startled him the most, was the terrible look in her eyes. It was a desire to kill, he had seen such look before, but it was startling for him to see it in her eyes. Where had the soft gentle unsure Amy vanished to?

Amy’s wrath had flared. ‘My boyfriend’, Amy thought. The vampire had tried to attack, to hack the flesh and blood of the man she loved. No! She would not allow it. Masterfully, Amy maintained her composure; shepherding her thoughts, fortifying her resolve, empowering her abilities. She flooded the cavern with her magic now fully unrestrained like how water fills a fish bowl. The opposing aura shrunk back, the location clearly defined, she had bound the it enough to know where this hateful thirsty creature was. Amy wrapped it with her mana like a snake coiling around its prey; and with a flick of her wand as if she was the conductor of this symphony of violence, she slammed the body of the invisible vampire arraigned in darkness, against the cold hard rock walls.

Jeremy heard the impact. Snap! The terrible sound of bones cracking like dry kindling was heard. He broke formation, launching forward, the space contracting before him, and with an upward stroke he wrote the ruin of this malevolent existence upon the wall. Splash! Dark black reddish blood stained the red rock, as the figure now revealed, fell away from itself as it was split in twain.

Sean had a shocked expression on his face. This was a powerful monster, yet in one minute he had been deleted from the database of the living. It was reminiscent of Liam and Ian actively in the raids when he was a young fledgling.

Amy and Jeremy exchanged glances. Each in their own thoughts. Amy was surprised when she felt Jeremy’s magic explode in his burst forward. He could use magic too; although, it was on a different spectrum than what she had witnessed and experienced so far. Likewise, Amy knew that he must be as surprised by her performance as well. As their thoughts converged, they sighed deeply, with the relaxing relief of surviving. Amy’s chest felt warm, a smile escaped her tightly drawn lips, as she saw a smile from him.

They continued their journey forward with haste. Amy’s heart was at peace as Jeremy marched beside her. Sometimes their limbs rubbed against each other as the passage narrowed. But neither drew back from the touch.

Amy could feel the change of magic like currents in the air, as the atmosphere was filled with a familiar feeling.

Several sighs escaped into the open air as they all exited.

“Huhhhh”, Amy felt true joy for the first time in a long while.

They were back to relative safety, back in Arbell. Except this time Jeremy was there. He was real, her heart beat each time his arms brushed hers. Even though words were not spoken, the tension was being washed away.

“We cannot wait!”, Osgur said as he looked at Glyn and Sean.

Amy caught Jeremy in a glance, his mouth opened as if he was going to speak. But before words left his lips, Sean and Glyn nodded.

"...", Jeremy jumped back before his thoughts could be rendered into speech, as the two dragons called Sean and Glyn suddenly grew. In the foggy mist snaking through the dead trees, Dragons emerged as if they had been grown upwards from the ground.

Jeremy couldn’t help but look at Chan and Wan, the years of hardship that shaped their personalities. Clad in blue and purple scales they looked at each other craning their long necks.

“Last flight to Arbell departing now!”, Glyn said with a relieved but somewhat nervous chuckle.

He felt her words, still in the same voice, but with the power to tear the air asunder.

There was vitality, there was strength. Majestically, magnificently they stood as masters of their domain beneath their strong wings. Their presence was different from Xirin, who seemed resigned, burdened by her fate.

He felt something and looked down to see a purple scaled tail, wrap gently but firmly around his waist, he looked at Amy who was also caught in Glyn’s tail.

Glyn pulled them up to her eye level, as she smiled brightly upon them, “You two love birds will fly first class with me!”.

Glyn blinked, Jeremy gulped. An opened mouth large enough to swallow Amy and himself revealed white sharp fangs. An intense heat came from her breath as she spoke. The black horns that extended upwards and back from her cranium. The scales seemed to make a rustling sound, flexing moving.

Jeremy turned to Amy, who had an embarrassed expression on her face. It seemed somethings were at least the same. He felt relief for the first time in a long while. They flew in the air. The clean vibrant air rustling past his face sweeping his blond hair here and there. He looked down as the ground shrank below and the blue sky expanded above. It was his first flight on top of a dragon. Amy staggered a little leaning against his chest. He wrapped his arm around her as they were nestled in between the black spikes along Glyn's spine. Silently they stood and enjoyed an embrace that had been too long held from fruition.