The Ivory Tower

Chapter 15: The Fight Is On

The next thing Naomi saw was a warzone. A few buildings were on fire and could be seen from Legend and Naomi's place on the portal net. There were distant screams and the bell at the top of the Tower was ringing, as was the one in the circle in the center of the Tower. The Fulgor hadn't reached where they were and apparently the other mages that had been with them at NASA hadn't waited for them. The area was eerily empty. If the bell in the Tower hadn't been ringing, it would've been fitting to call it dead silent.

Legend hopped off the net and helped Naomi down, even though she didn't need help.

"The battle is in the circle." Legend said. "Let's go. Stay close to me, and keep an eye out. We don't want Fulgor sneaking up on us."

They snuck through the Spring quarter and made their way to the center, the circle. It was like the town square, except it was a circle and had a giant sundial in the center. It separated the four quarters and was also a nice clock, due to the sundial's shadow being magic.

They went past the fire training facility and the boy's dormitories and walked across Solstice Road and into the Winter quarter where the people who usually lived there had been evacuated, there houses empty and waiting to see if they would still be there after the battle was over. Naomi wondered how it must be to have to pack only the necessities and leave your home while a battle raged on around it.

The shadows were their friend as the pair weaved in between houses and got closer to the circle. They encountered their first enemy in a dark alley, Legend had spotted him first and cried out a warning as Naomi saw him rushing toward them and readying his magic. She pushed him back with a burst of her own force and they ran onward, not checking to see if he was dead.

They saw more as they started coming into view of the circle. The Fulgor, Naomi noticed, looked like humans, but had golden eyes and white hair, and knew more about magic. But Naomi knew more about beating the crap out of people.

Legend was busy fighting a rather tall Fulgor who she swore was an acrobat when another Fulgor decided it would be wise to sneak up behind her and put her in the choke hold.

Why? I don't know. Maybe he wasn't very good at magic, but he shouldn't have come if he was going to engage in hand-to-hand combat with me.

Naomi kicked him in the kneecap as soon as he touched her and turned around as he was reeling back to punch him in the face and kick him onto the ground. She turned around to see if Legend needed any help with his opponent and found him staring at her in awe, his enemy already incapacitated.

"What?" She said.

"Where did you learn to do that?"

"I took mixed martial arts classes for a few years." Naomi shrugged like it was nothing.

"That was awesome. You're probably the only person I know who can do that."

"I didn't really do anything."

"Yes you—"

"Can we move on now?" Naomi said.

They continued coming closer to the circle. They encountered three more Fulgor which they defeated as a team. Naomi threw a fireball at one of them, which set his sleeve on fire and sent him sprawling into his comrades, catching on of them on fire and leaving the other to desperately try to put out the flames and calm them down. Naomi and Legend found this hilarious, but couldn't stay to watch and see if they figured things out or not.