Catalyst (Book 1) (34 page)

I sped up my attack, trying to take him off guard. I let out a shout, creating a scattershot of fireballs. They sped out of my hands, swooping towards Premier. He stood calm, blocking them or absorbing them. He wrapped himself with air mana, using it as a shield. The air diffused my spells. Then he extended his shield and blasted my fireballs and me. I stumbled backwards, breaking my concentration.

“Is that all, boy?” Premier asked, with a bored expression on his face.

I punched the air and used the force of my punch to guide the air towards him, as if I was close enough to hit him. Premier tilted his head to the side, dodging it. The force of the air caused pieces of the stone to break off the wall behind him. I swung my left arm. He dodged again. However, those stones gave me an idea—something to work with in this stark environment.

While I loosed more fireballs at Premier, I channeled earth mana into the stones. They trembled in response. I prayed my fireballs were enough to distract Premier. He continued to block them. I summoned air to hurl the stones at the back of Premier's head. I thought I had him, but he sidestepped at the last moment. I barely had enough time to dodge them. They whizzed by my head and struck the opposite wall.

Premier's constant smirk infuriated me. He toyed with me, making no move to attack me. At most, he countered my spells. His eyes reminded me of Master Stradus's, the way he studied me and my spells. They focused on every move I made, unwavering. Unlike Master Stradus, though, Premier wasn't going to give me any feedback. I expected him to attack me any minute. My spells just weren’t powerful enough. I needed more time. The question was, would he give it to me?

Judging from the smug look on his face, he just might.

I gathered in water mana. As I hoped, Premier didn't attack me. He stood, waiting to see what spell I had in mind. I wiped the sweat from my brow, flinging it to the ground. I gathered as much water mana as I could, until I became dehydrated and my dry mouth pleaded for water. I fed the mana into my drops of sweat. My skin shriveled and caved in. My spell ballooned and multiplied.

Water sprang up beneath my feet and swelled, rising until it nearly touched the ceiling. The salty water formed into a tidal wave, and I brought it down at Premier with as much force as I could. Premier didn't make any move to stop it. He just looked at the wave and smiled.

It crashed into him with tremendous speed. The backwash covered me to my neck in the warm water. With horror, I realized I had forgotten Krystal. She floated face down. I swam over to her and turned her over, trying to get her to breathe again. She sputtered and coughed up water, but she was still unconscious. I held onto her, making sure she wouldn't drown.

I didn't see Premier break the surface for air. The water level went down as he worked his magic. I held onto the princess but still concentrated on my magic. If I didn't stop Premier here, we were dead.

I grasped water and air mana and said in Caleea, “
From the water comes the clouds and may the clouds fill the top of the room.”
Wisps of water floated into the air, becoming dark clouds that filled the ceiling, rolling and flashing with magic. Within moments, the water from the room was gone.

And there stood Premier with that smug, ugly smile I hated. I laid the princess down and walked away from her. Premier's eyes went to the princess. He didn’t notice or care about the clouds. I worried that he would attack her, but he didn't. He smiled as if he could kill her at any time. Puddles still dotted the room. Premier stood in quite a large one. That gave me an idea.

“I tire of your beginner’s magic,” Premier said. “I thought you might make things interesting. You started off so promisingly. Now I find you wanting.”

“How about this!”

I released the magic from the clouds, summoning a flash of lightning. It streaked toward Premier.

Premier shook his head like he was disappointed. He did what I expected him to: he raised his hand to the lightning, summoning a spell to deflect it. He succeeded, and the sizzling bolt crashed into the large puddle underneath him.

Aided by the water, the bolt of lightning coursed through him. Anger and pain surged across his face. The lightning seared his muscles and bones, making him look transparent. Premier's steaming body crumpled to the floor.

My muscles relaxed, and I breathed again. It was over. I stared at Premier's corpse. The emotions of battle had drained me. I was glad I lived and that Krystal and I were safe, but part of me was sad I’d had to kill Premier, even after all he’d done. From what Master Stradus had told me, Premier was once a good man, who became corrupted by power. Yet Premier had to die. Too many people had been hurt and killed because of him. I glanced at the one who he’d hurt most of all.

The princess was finally safe. Premier's own arrogance and cockiness had aided me. I wasn't sure how I would have dealt with his spells had he decided to attack me. He was right about one thing. I had done all this because of her. I would do it again.

I walked over to the princess. She was drenched in water, but when I leaned close to her pale face I heard her breathing normally. I lifted her head, feeling to see if any blood came from her head wound. There was none, but she did have a great, swollen lump. I took off the bandage she had made me and used it as a pillow for her. It wasn't much, but it was all I had. I needed to get her to a healer, and soon.

I wasn't sure if I could carry her. I was exhausted and thirsty. Using all that magic had taken its toll on me. I took off my purse and was reaching inside for my last revitalization potion when a great gust of wind hit me.

I screamed in pain and surprise as I flew into the wall. The wind had edges to it. It tore at me, scratching my face and hands. Premier stood in the middle of the room. His wind ripped my purse from my hands, sending it tumbling across the room and down the stairs. He pinned me up against the wall, my feet hovering not far from the ground.

“Impossible,” I said. “You should be dead.”

I channeled the air around me, trying to wrest myself from his invisible grip. I couldn’t move. It wasn't that Premier's magic kept countering mine. It was so strong, it simply crushed whatever spell I tried to perform. Underneath the air, black mana lurked. It gave the air an unholy, yet powerful feel to it. The strange spell weakened me.

“You don't have the power to kill me, boy,” Premier said. The amusement in his face was gone, and his lip curled in anger. I might not have killed him, but I had hurt him.

I squirmed, but his spell drained me. I tried incantations, but all my spells failed. Nothing would weaken his hold.

“Don't waste your energy. There's no escaping my grasp.” Premier lifted his hand and squeezed. The invisible force bruised and battered my body. His pure black eyes moved and swirled. “The time for your annoyance is at an end. Perhaps in the next life you'll learn to use magic properly.

“
The God of Death I beseech you. You have allowed me to live for centuries and now I give to you a wizard in return.
Sort of.” Premier raised his hand. Black mana engulfed it. Death was on his hand, and he was about to give it to me. “Goodbye, Hellsfire.”

“No!” I said as the cold overtook me.

I summoned all my strength to break free of his grasp, drawing mana from myself and the environment, pushing past the weariness brought on by his spell. This wasn't the time to hold back and worry about the damage I was going to do to myself.

My own magic was a storm, shredding me from the inside. I wasn't trying to do any sort of spell, just break free from Premier's grasp. That much energy and power needed a release. Premier stopped me from finding one, so it raged against my body. Premier couldn’t lock down my magic completely. It wormed its way through a small opening. I focused it against Premier's spell, widening the gap until it struck against him.

The two powerful magics clashed. Premier's had the upper hand, but my sheer, uncontrollable magic lashed against his, turning the tide. Premier struggled to maintain the spell that bound me and the one in his hand. His face twisted in concentration. He needed to choose one spell to strengthen; he could lose his grip on both. The burden on his mind, spirit, and body were great. He was a few steps away from me. He had only to touch me to kill me, yet each step he took looked like his feet were mired in mud.

I struggled to lift my arms. I needed them to channel my spell. I clenched my fists, and my forearms bulged. I yelled, using both magic and my physical strength to break free. My right arm was loose from Premier’s binding spell. My clenched fist almost smacked me in the face when I pulled it free.

I stretched my arm at Premier. Instead of fighting his spell and trying to break it, I let loose the pent-up magic that was eating me from the inside. The elemental magic blitzed Premier. Rainbow colors sparked and sizzled through the air. Because I shifted the magic and ignored his spell, his binding spell on me renewed. My body twisted in agony. I pushed aside the pain and weariness, using my emotions to fuel my magic. I had to end it here. For Krystal's sake, for Alexandria, and for my friends.

Premier's mastery of magic was incredible. He maintained the binding spell, the death spell, and put up a defense against my onslaught of magic. My elemental magic clashed against his invisible shield. The bright colors swirled around him, yet they never did him any harm. His spell had weakened, but he continued to move closer.

My feet hovered above the ground. I was still pinned, but I was able to bring my left arm up. I let loose even more magic at him. Blood trickled out of my nose. The noise and pain in my head grew louder as my life force left me. It slipped away along with the magic I cast. The neverending abyss called out to me. Although I didn’t want them to, pieces of my soul went towards it.

I was dying.

I was using too much of my own mana to fuel my blast at Premier. The fire within me wavered and flickered, dimming with each second. Coldness crept into my skin. Goose bumps ravaged my body. I had to fight to stay conscious and focus my raging magic at Premier.

My magic wasn't enough. Premier kept taking one small step after another. I poured more mana into it, making the pain in my head even worse. The blood from my nose was like a river. My eyes started to bleed.

It was no use. Premier was in front of me.

“Die, boy!”

CHAPTER 25

Premier brought his hand down, bringing death with it. Before he could touch me, a huge gust of wind sent him flying towards the opposite wall, slamming him down hard. His concentration broke. He released me from his grip, and I slid to the floor. I barely had enough energy to look up.

Master Stradus stood over me, bathed in blue mana. “Are you all right, my boy?”

I lifted my tired head and wiped the blood from my nose and cheeks. I blinked several times, trying to bring the world back into clear view. I forced a painful smile. “I'll manage. Thanks for saving me, Master. How did you get here?”

“We've breached the gates.”

He sighed, and I sensed Master Stradus had used up some of his power to help those outside. I wished he hadn’t. We were going to need all the strength we could muster. If only we could get to my potions and restore our strength.

“What in the Pit made you come in here and fight Premier alone against my wishes?”

I motioned to the princess's still body with my head. “Her.”

Master Stradus nodded and gave a tight-lipped smile. “I understand. We'd better hurry up and get her to safety. We haven't much time.”

We were out of time.

Premier rose and faced us. His robes were singed and tattered. His face was scratched and bruised. He didn't seem to notice. His black spell was still in his hand. I thought he would have let that go when he let me go, but he had somehow held on to it. He narrowed his eyes at my master.

Master Stradus helped me up, never taking his eyes off of Premier.

“I know you,” Premier said.

“You did once, a long time ago.”

Premier was quiet as he thought about it. “That wind felt…familiar.” His dark eyes gleamed with recognition. “Stradus, is it?”

My master nodded. “I see you’ve taken the egocentric name of Premier. And I thought you were just joking.”

“Yes, and you still have your head in the clouds, Stradus.” The spell ate Premier's own hand, and he didn't care. Master Stradus was right. Premier had lost his mind. I could make out only madness in his pure black eyes.

Master Stradus studied Premier, fiddling with his long, white beard. “I see time hasn’t been good to you.”

I stared at my master, wondering why we weren't attacking. I was exhausted and needed the breather, but standing here was also giving Premier a chance to recover. What were we waiting for?

Then I felt it. Master Stradus was using this time to gather in energy. I had to do the same thing.

I stopped gasping for air and drew in mana from the life all around us. Master Stradus gave me a subtle nod. I looked at the princess still on the ground, praying she would wake up and escape.

Premier chuckled. “If only you knew. I’m not the only one, Stradus. But I do like that beard you have going for you. That and all your white hair makes you look like one of those so-called wise fools on the Council.”

The globe on my master’s staff swirled as he gathered energy. “Thank you.”

“And a staff, too. I don’t need a useless tool to focus my power. I may be old, but I’m not a weakling like you.”

Master Stradus ignored Premier's taunts, continuing to draw in energy.

Premier glanced at me. “Quite an apprentice you have there, Stradus. He has potential. It’s too bad he's never going to reach it. I'm going to kill him, and then I'm going to kill you.”

“You mean you're going to try, old friend.”

“Always the
hopeful
one, I see.”

“And still the
mad
one, I see.”

The two wizards stared at each other, filling the room with powerful energy. It thickened the air, leaving its touch on everything and everyone. The ancient, dense magic made the hairs on my body rise. Even the princess stirred, but she didn't wake. I wished she would so she could escape. If it was dangerous in here before, it was going to get a lot more dangerous now. All that power ached to be released.

Our magic came out based on our strongest mana. A strong breeze circled the room. My fire surfaced to my hand. Premier's Art was the black mana he tapped into.

Premier drew power from himself. The spell around his hand consumed it. His skin peeled back until I saw the muscles. Then they disappeared until there was nothing but bone. With each horrific change, the spell grew stronger. He didn’t cry out in agony, nor did his face twitch in pain.

Master
Stradus’s
face scrunched up, and his eyes were squinted. He studied Premier's hand like he would study me when I performed magic. I wished he had the chance to tell me what he knew about Premier’s magic.

A thunderous silence filled the room while we studied each other and debated who would make the first move.

Premier smiled in his arrogant way. “Suppose I get rid of your apprentice, and it can be like old times?”

Premier released his now chest-sized death ball and flung it in my direction. By instinct, I raised my hand to deflect it with my fire.

“No! You can't affect it with elemental magic!” Master Stradus said, pushing me out of the way. I knew that. I should have remembered it.

I dove to the floor, grunted, and released a fireball at Premier. It didn't touch him. Premier stood there with his eyes closed, as a barrier of magic protected him. “Premier's up to something. He's in a trance.”

“Watch out!” Master Stradus yelled. We leaped out of the way just as the ball went flying past. The ball moaned, aching to kill something. The sound sent a shiver to my soul.

“What do you want me to do, master?”

“Damn him. He didn't give me enough time to gather in mana. I'm going to work on that. I'll be invisible to him. Attack him directly. He'll be vulnerable once you get past his defenses.”

Master Stradus walked away and stopped on the other side of the room. He released the power he had been holding, until a white light glowed around his body like a firefly. His eyes became pure white.

Premier's spell stopped moving. His head turned, and his eyes shifted around the room, passing over my master as if he wasn’t there. “Stradus, where did you go?” His black eyes focused on me. “No matter.”

The black ball of death started its descent again, flying and spinning through the air until it was almost upon me. I swayed like a cat, getting ready to jump. I was too tense. I jumped too soon. Instead of me fooling the ball, it changed direction, heading right for me. I conquered a gust of wind and pushed myself in the opposite direction. The ball skittered past and went off the other way, wailing in disappointment. This was my best chance to attack Premier.

I rushed to tackle him. I was exhausted from the magic I had performed earlier, and hoped his shield only applied to magic. It didn't. I yelled out in pain as I collided with the magical shield. I tried to punch him, throwing all my weight behind it. The shield seared my hand. My knuckles burned. I thought that at least Premier couldn't perform any more magic while he worked these two.

I was wrong.

Premier's human hand slung a fireball at me. I deflected it. He cast more. I had no problem blocking these weak and easy spells. He frowned in concentration, which meant he was hurt, tired, and not all-powerful. I deflected some of the spells back at him, but they did no harm. He continued to cast them. I didn’t realize his misdirection until it was almost too late.

I dodged the death ball at the last possible second. Its musical death passed by and the spell went straight towards Premier. He tried to change the spell's direction. It clashed against his barrier. Premier struggled, lifting his arms and grunting to push the spell away. He succeeded, but his protection flickered; the magic waned. That's when I saw my chance.

I rolled up my sleeves and gathered my strength, remembering the first rule: only magic can defeat magic. “
Wind and fire unite, cause great harm to this parasite.”

Fire spewed out of me, combining with the wind. I hurled it at Premier, putting all my strength into it. It consumed Premier in a wall of fiery wind that shot up to the ceiling, slashing and burning him through his shield. I tried my best to keep the wall as solid as I could, but the spell put a great strain on my mind and spirit. I had already used up too much power against Premier.

I glanced at the death ball to see if it might be slowing down. It was, but only a little. It still headed in my direction with the same furious appetite it showed earlier. I fueled my spell with more mana, feeling Premier’s shield weaken even more. It wasn't enough. His hungry spell came. I breathed heavily, not sure if I could move fast enough to dodge the death ball. It got closer, moaning incessantly, scratching at my mind and soul. I cursed and released the spell, diving onto the hard floor. My shoulder recoiled from the pain.

Looking up from the floor, I saw her move with cat-like grace. The princess had my dagger in her hand, and darted behind Premier. She brought her hand down to strike. Premier saw her too. He twisted in time to avoid her death blow. She struck him in the shoulder.

Premier yelled, “Bitch!” He propelled her back with a blast of wind. He held her in place, drawing the air from her lungs. She clawed at the invisible force and gasped for air that wouldn't come. He stretched out his hand. “Goodbye, Your Highness.”

I got up and ran. I used my own magic to cut off the spell he used to hold her. He had another spell ready. I reached her in time and caught her unconscious body.

Fire sprang from Premier’s fingertips, and I cradled the princess and shielded her with my own. I summoned up what little magic I could, keeping the flame from hurting her. The intense heat screamed to burn me. My exposed neck scorched as the flames brushed against it. I pushed against his magic with my mind, willing the fire to die down. Blood dripped from my nose once more, and I crumpled. How could this simple spell be hurting me so much? I focused, remembering that fire was
my
element. Not his.

I didn't have the power to stop or deflect his spell. As I looked inside the spell, I saw the magic Premier used to fuel it. It was difficult to stop magic at its source. One had to bypass the wizard's defenses and touch the person's soul. I used the fire as a conduit, traveling within to its wondrous heart. I reached out to Premier's mana, crushing it and extinguishing the fire.

My sweat-drenched body throbbed. Every sore muscle cried out in pain. I saw the princess, unconscious but unharmed. At least she was safe for now.

“Bravo,” Premier said. His death spell hovered in front of him. “But it was all for naught.”

Premier's spell flew towards me. I didn't have any more magic, and even if my body could move, I wouldn’t. If I did, he would kill the princess. I held onto Krystal's body, praying I would take the brunt of the attack and that Master Stradus would have the time he needed to defeat Premier.

I stared into the ball, seeing my reflection gazing back at me in its smooth, icy surface. It was calm and peaceful for something so dangerous, coming to devour me.

“Let him be!” Master Stradus said. He jumped in front of me and pushed his ancient staff towards the death ball.

The white light around his body transferred to his staff. He shoved it in front of him, pushing all his will and might into it. The staff came alive, moving and hissing. When the death ball came into contact with the snake, the two powerful energies struggled, each one vying to be the winner in the deadly contest. Master Stradus's body wrinkled and cringed, but he held fast.

“Stradus! It's time to finish this!”

“You will
not
win, Premier. Do you hear me? You will not win!” Master Stradus said it with such ferocity, it shook my heart.

Blinding light flashed everywhere, stinging my eyes. The life and death that came from both my master and Premier shook the foundation of the castle. The trembling tower felt as if it would fall apart at any second. Premier and Master Stradus’s high-pitched yells pulsated through my head, shattering my ears. Magical tidal waves splashed me, brushing against my soul. Premier's cold magic made me want to give up and die. Master Stradus's magic filled me with energy, making me want to live. Feeling them fight each other was akin to being burned, then frozen alive—not my body, but my soul.