Kingdom of Life and Death (The Fifth Element Chronicles)

Chapter 3 "Wealcere" [part 1]

My magic had become a liability.

Since the day that I had let the shadows in, I had not been able to separate them from me. Every time I accessed the breeze beneath my skin, the shadows would weave. They were like a ribbon that was tied to the light of my magic of creation, holding tightly without letting it be.

But I could not fight it, because I did not want to.

It gave me strength, it gave me security, it gave me something inexplicable, even though I was ashamed to think about it, I did not want to let it go.

It was getting harder and harder to control it. Almost impossible at times.

But Caelus didn't know that, because he wasn't here to see me transform into... well a kind of copy of himself.

So when he said, 'Open a portal', he didn't quite know what he was asking me for.

I tried to get away from it.

'I don't know the place, I can't travel to a place I don't know. Let's use whatever you used to come here instead.'

'We can't, because it wasn't mine. It was Isabelle's. You must do it. Take my hand, I'll think of the tavern and you'll take us straight there.'

Damn.

I had no other choice.

He took my hand slowly, I don't know if it was out of his own fear of contact or just to irritate Russell, either way, he managed to make us all feel uncomfortable.

Portal, portal, portal.

My creation magic brought it in a second. A white coloured portal, surrounded by a line of black.

And I felt it. There it was.

Every time I called, it answered.

You are powerful, you are invincible.

Black magic emerging from within, greeting me, asking me to keep using it.

Avenge of the Gods, it sighed to me.

How could I compete with the Gods?

You are so powerful. You can be even more powerful.

'Gaia, are you okay?' Caelus grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the dark thoughts the magic was drawing me into.

He knew what it felt like. He too was fighting that darkness.

Russell just looked towards the portal.

'Shall we cross it or...?'

'If you cross it now, you'll go where you want to go, don't you know anything about magic farmer?'

'Don't start again. Caelus, go first and we'll follow.'

Caelus nodded slightly and took the lead crossing the portal without looking back.

I moved to cross, but Russell stopped me.

'Are you sure about this?'

I didn't know if he meant going in search of this girl and her grandmother, or if he was asking me about Caelus.

To either, I answered the same thing.

'I'm sure.'

And I stepped through the doorway, appearing in front of an old tavern where the voices of the people inside stunned me.

I suddenly realized that being there was not a good idea with my new dress shining and announcing that I was in a Kingdom not my own in the middle of a war.