JOURNEY INTO THE REALM: The Spell Master (Journey into the Realm Series) (41 page)

I felt a new energy building within me. I felt warmer. I felt heat in my hands and body, coursing through me like energy pumping fiercely through my veins. I grinned.

“What are you going to do, Ramsey? Fight fire with fire? It will only leave you weak and helpless. You can’t hold on as long as I can,” he threatened.

“I can try,” I said. It was all I had.

I shoved my right hand out as if I were punching someone, sending a stream of fire toward my enemy. He deflected it with his own, but I continued to throw jabs at him. I had to keep my focus; otherwise, I would get burned.

We circled each other, throwing blows, trying our hardest to strike the enemy. I used both my hands and hit his left arm, but my attack wasn’t enough to stop him. I felt my energy draining, and a dizzy feeling settled into my stomach. I ignored it the best I could; I had to win this challenge.

Kalani and Finn’s dragon were locked in a fight of their own, merciless and extreme compared to my battle of wills with Finn. I could barely follow the streams of fire, gnashing teeth, beating wings, and thrashing tails as I focused on my own fight. I prayed for Kalani’s strength and survival.

Em suddenly shape-shifted into her Saker Falcon form and dove at Finn’s head. She barely had time to fly away before he sent a wave of flames toward her. Instead of backing down, she dove at him again, this time inflicting wounds to his skull with her sharp talons. Momentarily distracted by the falcon’s strike, I prepared a new attack.

I quickly gathered fire into my palms, gaining more energy and power than I had ever imagined. I could understand how controlling fire could lead to ruthlessness. The sheer effort of trying to harness and hurl fiery, unpredictable bolts could easily consume any being, so the only thing that mattered was survival…and dominion over everything and everyone else. And I was not a fire fairy. I was only using the power of fire for a limited time.

I yelled for Zora and Addison to stay back as I threw the ball of fire in Finn’s direction. He moved just in time to avoid the hit, which slammed into Ellie instead. She cried out in pain but I could already tell the wound wasn’t fatal.

Nathan grasped his sword and joined me in the fight. He cast a spell that turned his blade into water, with edges that were still sharp. Pure magic, it doused each flame Finn sent Nathan’s way as he moved closer to strike with his sword. I felt another new energy, a good energy, surge through me. Nathan had joined the fight, giving me all the strength I needed to face my deadly opponent.

Ellie, recovered from my ball of fire, raised her hands in the air, ready to send a wave of fire toward Nathan and me. She hesitated at the sound of unfamiliar voices approaching. We all turned to see a band of six battle-ready elfin soldiers run out of the trees. From the opposite direction, seven Element fairies joined the fray. I recognized Pyra as part of the brigade.

The elfin soldiers rushed to attack the Element fairies. In a whirl of elements and iron swords, my eyes suddenly focused on one of the soldiers. I blinked in absolute astonishment.

Of the six elfin soldiers, I recognized only one.

Stellan.

***

I could barely breathe for a moment. Never in my wildest dreams had I expected Stellan to be here. A swirl of emotions ran through me as I watched him launch into battle. Before I could react, Finn sent a shot of fire toward me that hit my chest, making me fall backward. I screamed as I landed. I hadn’t felt this much pain since the last time I had felt a fire fairy’s wrath.

My reaction to Finn’s attack caught Stellan’s attention; he left the battle between elves and Element fairies and ran to my side. For some odd reason, with one signal from Finn, the fairy soldiers flew into the trees, with the elves following closely. Were the Element fairies drawing the elf soldiers away to leave us at Finn’s mercy again?

“Ramsey, what are you doing here? Are you all right?” Stellan asked, lending me a hand.

He helped me up while Nathan continued to fight Finn. Ellie had joined in as well. I wondered how long Nathan would be able to hold them. Luckily, Em had returned and was now attacking from the sky in her falcon form.

Taken aback by Stellan’s presence, I could barely respond to his questions. It was so strange to see him here, especially after what had occurred between us during our last meeting. Finally, I found my voice.

“I was taken hostage by the Element fairies and escaped. As you can see, the fairies caught up to me and my rescuers.”

For a moment, his eyes lingered on my wings. As soon as he realized I was watching him stare, he averted his gaze and looked directly into my eyes. “I can’t believe we are meeting at a place like this. Ramsey, about what happened between us….” He looked down, unable to continue.

I thought for a moment, considering what I should say. Stellan was no longer part of my life. But I could still forgive him; not every memory of our time together had been tarnished by my secret. I knew he was a good elf. I couldn’t hold any resentment.

I lifted his chin. “It’s in the past.”

He smiled and then frowned. “Are you okay? Does the burn hurt?”

“Not nearly as much as my weakening energy, but I’ll manage. I have to help Nathan.”

“I’ll help you too,” he decided.

“Don’t get yourself hurt over me, Stellan. This is my battle. After everything that has happened between us, I don’t expect you to risk your life for me.”

“Last time I checked, we were in this together, beginning when I caught you falling in the school cafeteria,” he said, his perfect grin contagious as always.

I smiled, remembering our first encounter, when everything was so simple and I met the most gorgeous guy I had ever laid eyes on. Now, it was different. He was more than just good-looking. We had history. He was my friend.

“Then let’s finish it together,” I decided. I turned back toward the fight, but Stellan’s hand gripped my wrist, preventing me from going any farther.

“Ramsey, wait,” he said. “I meant to write you, but the war has been out of control here. I’ve thought long and hard about it, and I’ve decided that I want to leave the war.”

“What?” I cried, searching his eyes for the reason behind such a bold statement.

“You have the opportunity to end this. And I want to be a part of it. I want to be with you every step of the way. I don’t care how much trouble I get into by leaving before my service has ended.” He took my hand, the touch of his skin comforting and tinged with remembrance. “For you, it’s worth it.”

I didn’t know what to say. I could scarcely breathe. “I can’t believe you’re dropping this on me now.”

He grinned. “Don’t think about it now. Just focus on surviving this so we can talk about it later, all right?”

I managed a nod, and we both plunged back into battle.

Kalani flew downward and met me before I could prepare an attack.
Climb on,
she instructed.
Finn will have to meet you in the sky and his dragon is weak.

She was right. The black dragon had severe gashes in its side and deep scrapes on its neck. Kalani was breathing heavily, and she had a cut on her chest, but she was in much better spirits. Trying to forget Stellan’s pledge to join me and end the war, I nodded and climbed atop my dragon. Em joined me in the air as Finn mounted his black dragon. Nathan and Stellan focused their attacks on Ellie. I wondered if Stellan even recognized Ellie as a fire fairy.

Kalani maintained a good position in the sky as I continued to send streams of fire toward Finn. His dragon was unsteady in the air, unable to focus. I heard Finn curse loudly as he fought to keep up with my attacks.

I felt myself losing more and more strength as the fighting progressed, but I knew we could win this battle if I could just keep going a little bit longer.

I continued sending out bolts of fire and noticed Finn was finally weakening. I was surprised at my strength and knew it came from my fierce determination to hold on and keep myself and my friends alive. Finn didn’t have the same burning passion to survive or the kind of love I felt for those around me. Knowing this made me stronger and more determined to beat him. Finn only wanted us dead. His hatred would be his ultimate downfall. I was looking forward to it. Hate could never conquer love. I had to prove that to him.

The black dragon gained a momentary fit of strength. The beast charged Kalani and me, and my dragon had to break right to avoid a collision. The swift movement knocked me off her back. My wings caught me in the air before I hit the ground. Tears of relief sprang to my eyes. Without my wings, I would have died.

I looked down and saw Stellan gazing up at me. Fear clouded his expression. I tried to mouth that I was all right, but someone else claimed his attention first.

Ellie, flying above him, had quickly noticed Stellan’s lack of focus. I screamed a warning…but a dragon’s roar from above and an approaching blast of fire forced me to turn aside. When I looked back it was too late.

I flew downward but could only watch in horror as Ellie poured a wave of hot flames over the elf who had fought so bravely by my side. I shrieked in protest and screamed with all of my might, but nothing could stop Ellie’s fiery attack. I couldn’t save him. I couldn’t turn back time. I watched as the fire subsided and Stellan’s smoking ashes – remnants of who he once was – lay collected on the verdant grass.

For a moment, everything was silent. I landed on the dirt, my feet resting noiselessly. In shock, I clutched the clothing over my heart, trying to grasp the reality around us. No one seemed capable of moving – or breathing. Even Ellie, the murderess, was speechless and still.

“Oh, Fae, what have I done?” Ellie cried, finally breaking the silence. She fell back against a tree and began breathing heavily, no tears escaping her eyes, but torturous emotions clouding her features. She pulled at her dark hair, shaking her head to and fro in defiance, like she couldn’t believe the unspeakable act she had committed. “I killed him. I didn’t want to…I…I never wanted this…I just…I don’t…” Struggling with herself, Ellie continued to ramble, but I wasn’t listening. I wondered if she was trying to convince herself that she wasn’t a monster.

The black dragon and Kalani were still locked in battle, but Finn had returned from the sky. He stood watching me, a slow grin spreading across his face. He waited expectantly for my reaction.

A new rage filled me, this one even stronger than the first. As I listened to Zora’s heartbreaking sobs, I built up as much fire and strength as I had in me and sent all of it to Finn. Without considering the consequences of my actions, what nightmares they might bring in the future, I gave all the energy I had left to those flames. I fed them with my fury, my pain, my agonizing heartbreak.

Why Finn? Because deep down, I knew Ellie had been trained to follow the harsh dictates of her father. Finn was the reason Stellan was dead. He was the reason for all my pain and suffering. He was the reason for everything.

He had no idea how strong my fire was until it hit him. I saw his eyes widen in horror as the flames engulfed him.

He didn’t even have time to say any famous last words.

The flames burned Finn until he, too, was lifeless and silent. Just like Stellan.

I had won. Finn was dead, and he would never come for me again. I had triumphed over my enemy. But I didn’t feel any sense of achievement or peace. I didn’t feel any glory. All I felt was an incredible sorrow engulfing me like the flames that had taken two very different lives today.

Only a few minutes earlier, Stellan was alive and breathing, fighting alongside me, promising to leave his service in order to help and protect me. Now he was dead, just like Janie and Daran. Just like my father, Lord Dolan; King Lore; and Em’s mother. Just like everyone else who had perished at the hands of the Element fairies.

“Stop,” I commanded weakly.

The mimic spell left me with a rush of feeling; I was barely able to stand because I was so weak. Em returned to her elfen form and joined us. Kalani landed nearby. Where the black dragon was, I didn’t know; I didn’t care. Addison stood by Zora; both were fixated on Stellan’s ashes. Nathan came to my side and I felt his hand on my shoulder.

I could hardly bear to look at Stellan on the ground, not even recognizable. He wasn’t Stellan anymore. He was…
something else
, and the thought of this pierced my heart. Everything had happened so fast. None of it seemed real.

My vision was blurry and my heart ached. I was breaking inside; with my eyes closed, I couldn’t escape the torturous images. I bit my lip until I tasted blood, until my lips were raw and the iron tang made me nauseous. I desperately needed to feel something, anything but this overwhelming sense of grief and regret.

Zora knelt down and wept. While her sobs were loud and echoing, mine were quiet and contained, endless tears streaming down my checks and onto my neck, leaving trails of sorrow in their wake. Addison stood frozen in place, eyes never leaving Stellan’s ashes, not even to blink back tears.

None of us had expected Stellan’s arrival, let alone his untimely death.

Zora had loved him, maybe even more than I had. I swallowed my grief and knelt next to her, putting my arms around her neck.

“Why did God let this happen?” she asked between sobs. “Stellan shouldn’t have come here. He wasn’t supposed to die here.”

“God didn’t let this happen. He didn't kill Stellan,” I said quietly in response. “It isn’t up to Him to stop the horrors of war. It’s up to us.”

Specifically, it was up to me to stop this evil. I would continue to fight with Stellan’s memory. I would end this war.

Zora gave no reply; I had spoken the truth, yet it was difficult to accept such things in the midst of overwhelming grief.

I turned from Stellan's body and rose from the ground. I didn’t want to see him like that anymore. I wanted to remember him as the dashing, courageous elf who had loved me as well as he possibly could. He was my first love, and he would always claim a significant piece of my heart. I would always remember how he had fought with me until the end.

I looked to Ellie, who was still leaning against the tree, her head buried in her hands. I could see that she was shaking, and I heard quiet sobs echo from her frighteningly beautiful fae body.

Again, I almost pitied her.
Almost
.

“Why are you still here?” I asked her.

She lifted her head, and her blood red eyes startled me, reminding me of the morning after Janie and Daran’s deaths. Had she truly been upset over the deaths of our friends, or had that all been an act? Was this an act now? My emotions were too conflicted to know.

“Aren’t you going to kill me?” she asked, her voice hoarse and bitter. “I deserve it.”

“I can’t judge you, Ellie. What you did was horrible, but killing you…it wouldn’t be right.”

“But I killed him, Ramsey,” she said, standing upright, challenging me even now. “I ripped the life away from someone I knew you cared about. I was supposed to be your friend, but instead I am a monster. I never thought of it like that before, but I see it now. I am just as evil as my father….”

“Just go, Ellie,” I said, not wanting to hear any more of her pathetic admissions or excuses. “Leave. Leave before the anger returns and I can't let you go.” I sighed, wiping frustrated tears from my sore eyes. “Because killing you would make me a monster too.” My voice caught with every word. I wasn’t in the best condition for giving speeches at the moment, but Ellie wasn’t about to leave without an explanation. “So go before I change my mind and kill you just so you’ll finally
shut up
.”

“I’m so sorry, Ramsey,” she stressed yet again. “I’m so sorry."

“Go, Ellie,” I repeated one final time. I didn’t want to say anything else to her. I never wanted to speak to her again.

She nodded, and with one last look at our group, turned and flew into the sky. Zora was now in Addison’s arms, best friends comforting each other, and Em was walking to join them. I wiped my eyes and looked at Nathan. His mouth was slightly agape, and his eyes were wide with growing confusion.

“Don’t ask questions, Nathan. I don’t want to give any answers right now. Just hold me so I don’t fall apart completely,” I told him.

He nodded and took me into his arms, the only place in the Realm I wanted to be.