What Once Was One (Book 2) (47 page)

Out of the ground rises the most powerful of all flame. A massive volcano reaches to the heavens and explodes with violence. Lava belches great balls of fiery death everywhere. They crash into the ground, using it as fuel for the fire.

My mind was on fire as the blood around me boiled and melted the grass. Steam left my body, and I burned. My skin became the color of a cherry, my chest heaved, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could contain everything. My magic ached to be released, but I had to do it safely because of my friends around me.

A wizard always had the option of releasing all of their magic in an uncontrollable fury. But that was a final spell—a death spell, as the magic was tied into their soul. I was going to do the same thing, but the ritual allowed me to do so with some kind of control. However, there was still a chance I might not survive.

The hexagram burned brighter and higher until it encompassed me. The magic on the grass wormed its way inside and I screamed from the pain. Veins nearly popped out of my body, and blood poured from my ears and eyes. With every bit of strength and emotion I had mustered, I let the fire go. Without it, my body collapsed.

The fire blazed out of my body, incinerating my clothes and the surrounding area. A trail of fire lit the ground. It dragged along, burning everything that got in its way, evaporating grass and incinerating insects. It pummeled into the two armies.

The people gave high-pitched shrieks as they burned alive. Their armor offered them no protection, and their weapons were useless. An unnatural pork-like aroma filled the air as their flesh cooked. A few near the front lines were able to scramble away from the fire. Wizards nearby tried to douse the fire, but my fire consumed their water magic and the fire was too great for the earth to smother it.

The line of fire completed its journey, touching the Ennis Mountains. It rose and blossomed, shooting straight up to the skies. A gigantic wall of fire halved the two armies, so bright and high it could be seen for miles.

I thought about crashing down my fire on both sides of the battlefield like a tidal wave. I could end it now, kill thousands, and cripple their armies, but I would be as guilty as they. They deserved a chance to live.

I lowered the flame’s power. The finger-like flames from my spell stopped reaching for fuel. They swayed back and forth, waiting for my next command. I had killed a great many, but I didn’t want to kill any more. Not if I didn’t have to.

My soul had completely transferred into the fire, and for all intents and purposes, I was dead. I wasn’t sure if I could transfer my magic and soul back into my body, but that didn’t matter. I knew that risk when I performed the ritual. The princess seemed to understand that too, and I was glad she hadn’t pressed me on the issue.

With the flame as my eyes, everything was a wondrous mixture of wavy orange and red with a hint of blue. Past that, there was something more, and I was able to peer into people’s manas.

Magic users had their strongest mana swirling inside them, filling every part of their body. The elves were dipped in green, and the dwarves and gnomes brown. The humans and the centaurs had bits and pieces of all manas mixed inside of them. What surprised me was what I found in the Wasteland creatures.

I expected them to have nothing but black mana lurking inside, and while that was their strongest mana, there was more. They had bits of colorful mana inside of them just like everyone else. Inside everyone there was tiny piece of flame. It blazed brightly in anger at what I had done.

As amazing as that was, they all paled before the princess.

Krystal was a blinding transparent light. It was hard to tear my gaze off her. In the bright rainbow, she outshone all. There was no color in her, only pure light. I had seen this before, back when I had fought Premier. I didn’t have any idea of what it meant then, and I didn’t know now.

Both armies halted, unsure of what to do. I was as tall as the highest peak. Everything around me was small and insignificant. I could crush them with a thought. My flames grew brighter and more intense, aching to destroy them. I had to fight my feelings and remind myself that they deserved a chance to live.

 
“YOU WILL STOP FIGHTING OR DIE.” My voice boomed and crackled like wood being thrown into a campfire.

I leaned in closer. Pieces of my flames pulled from the wall and flew towards the council members. My fire peeled away their guards’ protection, as their enchantments were not meant to counter a spell of such magnitude. The guards burned because they wouldn’t move and the council didn’t reinforce their spells. The council strengthened their own protective spells, yet they struggled against my fire. I tried to rein in my power, but it was too much even for me.

“END THIS WAR OR I WILL KILL YOU ALL.”

“Why should we listen to you?” Bellona asked, her black mana growing. “You know nothing!” Her magic tried to combat my own, but my flame absorbed it.

That dark flame within me begged to be released. Her magic began to change my flames and they burned brighter and darker. I pulled the fire back from Bellona. She smiled in satisfaction, as if her defenses were working.

The earth rumbled. “We will not bend to a tyrant!” Nairi said. The Elemental Council was finally united, even if it was to ignore me.

But I needed to do more. I had to convince them to stop this war. Even if I could kill everyone here, there were bound to be more forces they could muster. Other leaders and armies in other cities that I would have to deal with. In the councils’ pupil-less eyes there was no fear. Only strength and arrogance.

“YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE ME?”

“We will not challenge you,” Helios said. His magic was the only one that didn’t fight mine. He warped the fire around him so it didn’t harm him. “We will kill your body, if you do not cease this, Hellsfire. Without an anchor, you will go up in smoke.”

“YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING!”

I couldn’t believe they still defied me. Did they not realize how much power I possessed? They weren’t bringing their war into Northern Shala even if all of them had to die!

But the council didn’t yield. They executed their magic, casting spells and reciting incantations to lessen my flames. They even performed together, despite being far apart with my wall of fire blocking them. It was like they were whole again.

My fire burned slower and weaker. The cold feel of nothingness seeped into my skin. They assaulted me from all sides, each using their own specialties.

Nairi smothered my flames with the earth. The land rose and was torn asunder as earthquakes rumbled through the area. The jagged land was heaped onto my being. Where my flames were brightest, Helios soothed and dwindled them. He caressed them as if he was their lover. Dorissa and Zephyrus summoned the clouds. Together they drenched the area and me with raging rainstorms. Each drop was like a pinprick, and there were millions of them. Bellona, with her mastery of black mana, tried to extinguish my magic by crushing my soul. I shivered at her icy touch and did my best to shy away from her. I didn’t fight against her, but against myself, against releasing that dark magic within. She unknowingly drew it out of me. Ardonis bolstered and strengthened the life of all the others.

The council’s magic was far more powerful as one than by themselves. Even as the other wizards, witches, and sorcerers fought against me, their power was nothing compared to the council’s.

I was a giant being attacked by an anthill. My fire died down until it was only as tall as a person. All the fuel I had consumed earlier ran out. The armies saw their chance. They ran to attack my body.

I ignored the magical assault and focused on them. My trail of fire shifted, blocking their paths and smiting them, but it also served to lessen my power as I spread myself out. The centaurs and cavalry leapt over the flames. A few brave soldiers put their heads down, shields up, and charged.

Too much was happening for me to concentrate. The council gave me the most trouble, but I couldn’t disregard the other wizards. The army pressed on toward my body and my friends would be overwhelmed with their numbers. With each passing moment, my power waned. I couldn’t keep this up forever.

I ignored the danger to myself and focused on my friends. There was no reasoning with the council. I had to buy time for my friends to get away, since this plan wasn’t working.

I released more of the fire I was into fireballs, shooting them at the armies. They splashed and burned the oncoming soldiers. A stream of fire funneled into a mob of goblins rushing for Krystal, Ardimus, and Rebekah. A wall of flame smashed into a group of centaurs before they reached the elves.

I started to lose focus. I was so tired. I couldn’t even bring my small wall of fire down and destroy both armies anymore. I wanted to rest, but knew if I gave in, the only thing to comfort me would be the afterlife.

“Hellsfire!” Krystal yelled as she ran her sword through one of Romenia’s soldiers and slashed the one behind her.

I renewed my attack against the armies and council. My fire blossomed and exploded with rage. I couldn’t let her or anyone else down. This was going to end, one way or another.

My roaring red and orange fire mutated to a black-laced one. I let it all go, holding nothing back. I drew power from Bellona, her mana fueling my dark flame. Hundreds died, screaming as they burned alive.

The council and other wizards stopped their assault. Their armies no longer attacked my friends; their crisp husks littered the ground. The armies scattered while the council and other wizards used magic to try to protect themselves and everyone else. They couldn’t. My fire battered and breached their defenses, consuming any magic they raised.

The black flames blistered and boiled, and I kept growing. The flames bucked out and incinerated everything they touched. In the councils’ eyes, fear finally came, and part of me cherished it.

I gave into that unknown power, losing myself in it as if it were a river carrying me downstream. The power I released was the only thing that could stop this war. Since they wouldn’t bow down to me, I made my decision to kill them all.

“We yield!” Bellona said. Her hands were up, straining to maintain her shield from my fire. She had long ago cut off her magic, but my black flames gobbled it like a starving man with an endless hunger.

“We’ll call a truce!” Ardonis said. His staff and body glowed white, shielding him from the fire. “Call off your flames and we’ll talk about ending this war.”

They didn’t promise to end the war, only to temporarily halt it. They might decide to enter Northern Shala with a combined force. I could kill the council and most of the armies here. My power urged me to end it and make sure they couldn’t threaten Northern Shala.

But no. This wasn’t the way I was raised. They deserved a chance. If they talked, they might see reason. I needed to get through to the council lest I make enemies of them and their people.

“VERY WELL.”

I knew full well I might die if my soul and magic couldn't be transferred back into my body. My gaze lingered on the princess. She glowed as bright as the sun. Even if I died, I knew she could negotiate a peace and succeed where I couldn’t.

But I couldn’t stop.

My fire raged brighter and hotter. Instead of collapsing, the black wall of fire expanded. People scrambled to get out of the way before the flames engulfed them.

“WHAT’S HAPPENING TO ME?”

But I knew the answer. It was the reason I didn’t want to tap into the power in the first place, and one of the reasons I had journeyed into Southern Shala. I couldn’t control it. I was already weakened from the hard days of riding, and from the attacks. The blazing inferno became a wildfire.

My consciousness began to drift off into nothingness. If I died, the empty black fire would continue to burn until it had consumed everything. I had to extinguish it. I didn’t want my name to be remembered with the likes of Renak.

Yet I didn’t fight as hard as I could. Part of me delighted as I watched a wave of fire splash down on three humans, incinerating them. One wizard bought time, helping others run away. She stood her ground, casting her useless magic until my flames peeled off her skin.