Magi Games

Task 8: The Finals: My Entry

His thoughts drifted to Rya, but he wanted to forget... forget that he killed her. Guilt swarmed inside him and he collapsed on the floor, shoulders shaking. Eris, as if knowing nothing could help, simply sat down beside him and stayed there with him, not moving or saying anything.

Kyren wasn't sure how long they knelt there until the ship jerked and yanked him out of his thoughts.

"Strap yourselves in," a voice said over the crystal-com. Kyren and Eris both entered the main hold. She took a seat next to Mordzar and Kyren strapped in next to Eiridan and Jaeyria. They kissed each other passionately, making his own chest ache. Naya... They had all been through so much, his mind still hadn't had a chance to process what had happened with her. The Zhols had turned her and she'd been about to kill Rya. Kyren immediately had reacted and used his Zhol powers to kill her and accidentally killed Rya too. I really loved her, he thought. She had gotten me over Ashyra's death. At Ashyra's name, that icy coldness returned to his body and he glanced at his two friends' passionate intimacy.

"I know that we could all die at any moment," Kyren started as he stared at them, "but do you think you could keep the kissing and passion to a minimum?"

"We've found an opening," said the voice over the crystal-com. "No one use any magic and keep from moving around too much and we might be able to slip by before the Zhols or anything else senses us."

The windowless walls around them nearly drove Kyren mad with curiosity. Where were the ships? Were they at the blockade? Could they really slip through so easily? Would they be blown to bits at any moment? Normally, his mind wouldn't be so paranoid The questions distracted him from thinking of Naya or Rya, or all the death and destruction they had all just witnessed. In all honesty, it wasn't his own life he was concerned about.

Eiridan. Jaeyira. Mordzar. Eriswen. Those were the only friends he had left. Jeythr and Rhogan if they lived. Even the other Magi here. They were more important. After all the Magi who had either turned or died, these few... these few had to live.

Finally, Kyren could take it no longer. He unstrapped and headed toward the front of the ship. "Where are you going?" Jaeyria asked him.

"To see what's going on." With that, the door to the front slid closed behind him. The blood from where Rovad died still stained the chair and the floor.

"Kyren," one of the pilots said. "What are you doing up here?" The two exchanged a glance as Kyren peered through the window.

The Dragon Empire's ships had dispersed and the familiar blue light of the spell often used to move the ship at the speed of light coated the window.

"We broke through, so we'll just be heading somewhere distant and safe for now. You can go on back and rest," the second pilot said.

Kyren's chest squeezed with dread and that icy coldness overcame him again, so much so that he swayed. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Before either pilot could answer, the blue light disappeared.

"What are you doing?" Kyren asked. The ship jerked, as if another one had docked.

"We're being docked!" Rhogan yelled from the back.

"What's going on up there?" Eiridan called.

"What did you two do?" Kyren demanded as the door that separated the front and back of the ship flung open and stayed that way.

"Xanadar?" Eris looked at the first pilot with wide eyes.

"He... he promised to help us get past the Dragon Empire blockade! All we had to do was hand five of you over! Just five, and the rest of us would live!" Xanadar yelled, placing up his hands.