Blood Oath (Book 2 of Alfireán age)

Fight for Glandledale

Dy'Ixion snapped his right hand up in front of his body, and the lightning careened into an invisible force, hissing and spewing sparks as it flew in all directions. Soon thereafter, the sound of rolling thunder echoed off the sides of the crater.

"Interesting weapon you have there," the blood oath cackled. "But can you stop this?" He raised his left hand far above his head and brought it down as hard as he could with a sneer of pure hate.

"Above you!" Drake's voice hollered in his ear.

Alf whipped his body backwards and thrust his sword skyward. An invisible, heavy object smashed into his weapon, smacking it back against his face and driving him down on one knee. He grunted as the pressure drove his back nearly to the ground.

"Use both hands," Drake urged.

Using his right hand to grip the bottom of his hilt, Alf pushed with all his might, and the invisible construct rolled forward and smashed to the ground with a solid thud. Alf sprang to his feet, rolled over the unseen object, and swung his right arm in a powerful punch. A crescent wind scythe as sharp as any blade blasted forward and into the unseen barrier still in front of the blood oath. The wind screamed, sounding like sharp nails on a chalkboard as it scraped harmlessly against the unknown surface, and then shattered, disintegrating into the night.

"Humph," he harrumphed. "It would seem the mongrel has some teeth, but now," Dy'Ixion threw his arms wide open, "It is over!" he said as he slammed them back together in a thundering clap.

"Coming at you from both sides!"

Alf had figured as much and was already in the process of dropping to one knee. Shoving his hands into the dust, he jammed both his palms into the ground beneath him. Water shot down his arms, mixing with the soil as it shot up from below. Earth and ice spewed forth to his left and right and formed two protective walls. Just as the barriers finished emerging from the earth, Dy'Ixion's invisible attacks hammered into them, and Alf pushed hard off the ground, throwing himself backwards as the walls shattered into millions of glistening pieces.

He landed safely on his back and rolled to his feet, coming up with his sword in front of him.

"You are a squirrely one aren't you?" the blood oath spat.

"If I'm a squirrel then you're a one trick pony," Alf retorted.

Dy'Ixion's right upper lip rose in a sneer. "It seems this fight will not be decided by conventional methods." With a dramatic flair, he brought his right arm up. Crimson fire sprung to life on the tips of each of his fingers and rapidly formed into-fist sized fireballs.

Using Dy'Ixion's excessive showmanship as an opening, Alf cast his own spells. The world around him swirled, and the raging fires on either side of the crater were suddenly snuffed out as two giant tornadoes formed to his left and right. The wind roared, whipping his clothes as it grew to monstrous proportions; then Alf launched them forward at the blood oath.

The two towering tornadoes howled and shrieked as they shot forward, ripping up charred remains and spewing them off into the night sky like old sacks of potatoes. As one, they rushed up the side of the crater then curved, circled around, and came back down at the blood oath from both sides.

Dy'Ixion didn't even bat an eye, he merely jutted his chin at one then snapped his head towards the other.

A large force collided with the first tornado, and it sputtered and collapsed in on itself. Then, with a shudder, it dispersed, cutting deep grooves into the melted rock around it as its razor-sharp winds blew outward.

A breath later, the second tornado blew apart as an indistinguishable object the size of an elephant shot straight through it.

Alf clenched his fists in frustration. "Drake, I can't get past his... Whatever it is!"