A thick tension traveled through the air. This battle seemed almost unfair given that it was five against one. Elle had to remind herself that Deidre was a highly trained witch. Even if numbers made this unfair, she was probably more powerful than all of them. Even with their powers linked.
"Well," said Deidre. "I guess this is me accepting your challenge!"
Deidre raised her arms and 10 glowing red arrows appeared out of thin air in front of her. She pulled one of her arms back like she was stringing a bow and then released her arm sending the arrows forward. Judah threw up a forcefield at the last second and Elle felt relief as she watched the arrows bounce off.
"Oh please," Selena said.
Lightning started to strike the ground from the sky. It lashed at the ground from every direction and Elle watched in horror as Deidre simply stepped to the side with every bolt that landed in front of her. She smiled as she did so, and Elle watched as she looked to be whispering something underneath her white hood.
Deidre reached out and grabbed one of the bolts of lightning from the air and laughed. She threw it at the group once again and Judah threw up another forcefield. This time it barely blocked Deidre's attack.
Elle lifted her leg and stomped it into the ground. The earth began to crack, and slowly, a fissure began to form heading directly toward Deidre. The longer the crack got, the quicker it moved, and Deidre barely moved out of the way before falling into the hole. The fissure continued past Deidre and traveled up the wall of the castle sending a giant crack up the wall.
"Enough games," Deidre said.
The gem on her head glowed, and Elle gasped as ten dark purple portals opened around Deidre. Harpies filed through the portals and instantly went into attack mode sending their auras toward the group as they hid behind Judah's forcefield.
"We have to fight," said Elle.
"We linked powers," said Jayden. "If we can't fight them now we'll never be able to."
Judah let his forcefield down, and Jayden lifted his hands and zombie warriors appeared once again. Jayden opened his mouth to instruct them when fire rained down on them and they disappeared into nothing. Deidre let out a cackle as she held a tiny fireball in her hand.
"Looks like we're doing this the old-fashioned way," said Selena.
Asher's eyes turned blue and he started forming giant water bubbles. Elle watched as he made it grow to the size of a large beach ball before sending it to the Harpie and wrapping it around their head. The Harpie grasped at their neck but they were unable to get out of the water Asher had constructed and turned to dust on the ground.
Elle turned just in time to see a Harpie letting its aura creep toward her. She could hear her mother's voice faintly in her ear before she jumped over the smokey tendril and lifted her arms sending multiple vines to grab either side of the Harpies body. She flicked her hands apart and watched the Harpie scream as it was pulled from two separate sides, until eventually, just like the one Asher killed, it disintegrated into dust.
Elle set her sights on Deidre who stood at the back of the battle. She cackled in delight as she watched the Harpies attack them. Elle ran straight down the line of the fissure and whisked her hand upward to cause a tree to grow right where Deidre was standing. She managed to step aside last minute but glared at Elle and mumbled something under her breath.
Blackness started to surround Elle, and panic was setting in. She didn't know what Deidre was doing, but the last time she was in this black space, Elora had to save her before Deidre brought her to Gedeon. She looked at Deidre one last time as the blackness surrounded her. Right before the last of the hole closed a jet of water shot at Deidre from nowhere.
Deidre screamed in pain and stopped muttering whatever spell she was casting. The blackness disappeared and Elle looked at Asher appreciatively. "I'm a little tired of her not coming into the action," said Asher as he ran next to Elle. "Let's make her join in."
A giant whip of water appeared in front of Asher and he ran forward and dodged the aura from the Harpies. Elle quickly followed him, and from the side of her vision saw Jayden grab a Harpie and it turned to dust. Selena shot lightning from her hands at a rapid pace toward two of the Harpies while Judah protected her from the aura that they were sending off. They also met the same fates as the one Jayden faced.
Elle looked forward again and saw Asher jump into the air. He flung his water whip toward Deidre and it slammed into her cheek. She screamed in pain before lifting him into the air with her mind and sent him flying toward the fissure. Elle panicked as she watched Asher fly toward the hole and stomped on the ground. The hole closed right as Asher fell and hit the grass.
"That's it?" Asher said.
Elle closed her eyes and summoned vines from the ground. She imagined the sharpest and thorniest jungle her brain could produce and watched in awe as she shot it toward Deidre. The vines were better than she had envisioned. They were about the thickness of the handle of a hammer, and the thorns were visible from even as far away as Elle stood. The vines wrapped around Deidre's legs and she winced in pain before she used the fire she held in her hands to burn the vines away.
"This is cheap parlor tricks!" said Deidre. "You don't even know how to use real magic!" Deidre spoke a big game, but she looked enraged as she shouted at Elle and Asher. Elle knew their magic wasn't the most refined, but they were at least giving her a run for her money. She turned to see how the others were faring when she saw that Selena had taken out the last of the Harpies with her lightning.
The group walked toward Deidre and she backed away and threw her hands into the air. Elle, Selena, Judah, Asher, and Jayden flew into the air and were being held at least ten feet off the ground. Elle kicked her legs in an attempt to get free, but it was no use. Deidre's magic wouldn't budge.
"I'm done with this game," Deidre yelled. "It's been seventeen years since we've waited for your cowardice return. You ran and abandoned your people all those years ago! You're cowards. Do you think that because you came back now and learned that you have magic you're suddenly special?! That you're suddenly worth something!?"
She closed her eyes and a purple portal just like the ones that the Harpies came out of appeared in front of her. "I'm taking you to Gedeon."
"NO!" screamed Elora.
A burst of light shot from the window of the tower. It was white and looked as if it had angel wings cascading from the sides. As the light pierced through the yard, the fog that Selena had produced earlier disappeared. Deidre tried to get out of the way but saw it too late. The light slammed right into her chest and sent her flying in the opposite direction. Her body hit the hard stone wall of the castle and she slumped forward on the ground.
A whoosh of air warped around Elle and she fell to the ground. The impact took her breath away as she landed on her back. She gasped for air, but nothing seemed to come to her. She closed her eyes and attempted to focus her breathing, and slowly, her lungs started to calm down.
"Get up!" Judah shouted.
Elle struggled to her feet and the five of the guardians ran together. "Grab hands!" Elora came running from the entrance of the tower. Elle could tell that the light she sent down from the window had taken a lot out of her. "Grab hands!" she repeated.
When Elora finally got there the group awkwardly linked hands and Elora came to their line and grabbed onto Elle's shoulder. "We're going to end this once and for all," Elora said. "Repeat after me," Elora instructed. "Mentis captionem intus!"
Elle had no idea what she was saying, but the second Elora said the words Deidre screamed in pain. Elle repeated the words "Mentis captionem intus," with the others. She said it over and over again as she watched Deidre shriek in pain.
"Keep going!" Elora shouted over Deidre's screams. "No matter how much she screams don't stop chanting and don't break your concentration!"
"Mentis captionem intus!"
"Mentis captionem intus!"
"Mentis captionem-"
"STOP!"
A strong commanding voice filled the area. It was so strong that Elle stopped chanting. Deidre didn't scream anymore. She was slumped over on the wall. Her eyes were wide and Elle's heart stopped. A red portal appeared next to Deidre and Gedeon stepped out of the portal onto the yard.
Elle felt like time was moving in slow motion as she came face to face with the man who has caused so much chaos in her life. He looked heartbroken as he sunk to his knees next to Deidre. Her body limply traveled with him as he lifted her to his chest. He let out a soft cry over her body.
"How dare you," Gedeon snarled.
He lightly set Deidre's body to the side and stood up to face the group of guardians and Elora. Elle felt chills run down her body as he looked at every one of them with disgust. "Elora, that was a fate worse than death and you know it!"
"You were going to take these kids and kill them in a ceremony for their power!" Elora said. "She picked her side. She knew the dangers of it."
Gedeon began to breathe heavily and raised his arms into the air. "It was never supposed to be this way!" he screamed. Black rays shot into the sky and engulfed the clouds that Selena had brought forth earlier.
"What did we do to her?" Selena called out.
Gedeon let out a sinister laugh. It unsettled Elle as she watched him go through so many emotions at once. He ran toward Selena and grabbed her cheeks in his hands. "You mean to tell me that you cast a spell on the woman I love and don't even know the effects!?" he screamed. Gedeon moved suddenly and threw Selena to the ground. She hit the earth hard and Judah grabbed ahold of Gedeon.
"Don't touch her!" screamed Judah. He punched toward Gedeon, but Gedeon grabbed his hand before it could connect with his face. He threw Judah toward Selena on the ground and she instantly crawled over to him. She shot a lightning bolt at Gedeon, but just as easily as Deidre did he reached out and plucked it from the air. He threw it back at Selena and Judah. Judah barely got a forcefield up in time.
"These are the brats that you have to defend your realm, Elora?!" Growled Gedeon. "No wonder I was able to take it over so easily!" He glared at Selena and snarled. "You trapped Deidre in her mind. She is still physically alive, but unable to escape her darkest nightmare. Over and over she will relive her darkest fears until her body gives out of old age."
"Go Gedeon," said Elora. "You have no business here any longer."
Gedeon laughed. "I have nothing but business here, Elora. I might not be able to kill you, but there are worse things you can do to someone than kill them," He glanced over at Deidre sadly. "Release her immediately."
"No," Elora said defiantly. "Go back to the Land of The Vein."
Elle was confused. Gedeon was supposed to be this all-powerful wizard. So powerful that even Elora was nervous about him. How was this big bad wizard not wreaking havoc and mayhem on them as they just did something awful to the woman he loves? It was then that Elle noticed a dark patch of skin right under Gedeon's neck. It looked as if an infection was taking over his body.
"Dark magic is consuming," she muttered.
"What was that, Girl?!" Gedeon screamed.
"You can't do anything right now," Elle said. "You haven't tried to get us at all during this time not because you have minions and can control people, but because you can't. Your power is eating you alive. That's why you need us. That's why you need the Dominions!"
"SHUT UP!" he stretched his hand out and Elle flew across the yard. She landed hard on her back but instantly sat right back up. "You want magic?!" Gedeon shouted. "I'll give you magic!"
He closed his eyes and floated into the air. The dark rays that consumed the clouds earlier started to get stormy. Thunder sounded so loudly that Elle had to cover her ears. "Plaustrum tenebrarum oriri!" Gedeon shouted. "Plaustrum tenebrarum oriri!"
Elora began to mutter something the second she heard Gedeon's spell. Elle ran over to her and tried to listen to what she was saying to help but she couldn't make out what was being said. "Plaustrum tenebrarum oriri!"
Gedeon landed on the ground right as all of the clouds in the sky began to form together into a giant blob of darkness. The textures changed, and the clouds began to bubble in the sky above them. Ooze began to leak from them and drip toward the ground. "Get inside," Elora said. "Get inside now!"
She threw another bright light toward Gedeon who grabbed Deidre off the ground and disappeared into another portal. Elle ran as fast as her feet could carry her toward the tower entrance. She didn't know what was falling from the sky, but if Elora was as scared of it as she made it seem Elle knew it couldn't be good.
When they ran into the tower and closed the door Elle fell into the wall and attempted to catch her breath. Her body was sore and she moaned in pain as she looked at Elora confused. "He was right there!" Elle said. "He was right there and almost completely helpless! We could have had him! We could have killed him right there!"
"Do you know the spell he just released?" Elora asked angrily. "Do you think that a wizard as strong as Gedeon wouldn't have a plan of attack the second you used your magic?! He needed your magic to draw from! He wanted you to use it! His power-"
"Is killing him!" Elle screamed. "Literally!"
The sound of groans came from outside the door to the tower. Black sludge started to seep through the cracks of the wooden door and Elora's face went pale. "To the top of the tower!" she screamed. "To the top of the tower now!"
They ran up the stairs in a panic and Elle ran to the window to look out at the chaos. The black sludge in the sky had come and traveled down to the ground. It spread out far and covered the entirety of the wall. Elora let out a tiny gasp as she saw the carnage outside and closed her eyes.
"Sigillum," she uttered.
The front gate had a golden light appear at the entrance. It blocked the sludge from traveling outward into the courtyard. "That won't last long," said Elora nervously.
"What is that?!" Elle exclaimed.
"A plague that is the darkest of magic," Elora said. "Magic that had been outlawed for many years. We have to get out of here."
"Surely there's something we can do?!" Selena said.
"Do you hear those groans?!" Elora shouted. "Those are the groans of the people who lost their lives to this plague years ago!" Tears welled up in her eyes. "They're trapped in that...that thing! Tortured and in pain for the rest of eternity."
"How do we get out?" Jayden asked nervously.
Elora stretched her hand out and a white light appeared in the middle of the room. "We go back to your world," she said. "and pray we can come up with a way to save this one."
Elle watched as Elora sadly walked through the portal. Selena, Judah, Jayden, and Asher followed. Elle turned around and looked out at the sludge one last time. It bubbled and popped and the groans grew louder in her ears.
An arm popped out of the darkness and Elle screamed as the sludged promptly sucked it back in.
With a defeated heart and tears in her eyes, Elle walked out of Glorianna and into the portal that led back to Earth.