Zaphaniea listlessly crawled down from her pillar and collapsed to the ground as her two giant spheres dissipated. "Take me to the teleportation stone," she whispered.
"You're not going anywhere for a while," Olivia said as she knelt beside her. Several other healers, including Gerhard, Katarina, and Cretan, kneeled around her, checking her over for injuries, and administering healing potions intravenously.
Zaphaniea tried to push herself up on one arm, but her limbs refused to move. "No...," she said, pulling away from the healers. " ... you don't understand."
"I understand that you just had two thousand people's energy fed through your body. You are not going anywhere." Olivia's tone brooked no argument.
"No, the stone...," she swallowed, trying to shove down the pain and exhaustion. "The stone works as an anchor point. It's like the absolute coordinates to this area. It's what lets him scry this place. If he looks and sees that we're not destroyed, he'll be here in a few minutes. And this time, he won't send a hologram."
A horrified shudder ran through the crowd. Alf shot to his feet, scooped her up, and shouted, "Rex, take us to the teleportation stone!"
***
Rex arrived at the crest of the crater then collapsed to his knees and rolled to his back. "We're here," he breathed, utterly exhausted. Alf hid a smile as he looked at him; the poor guy's legs had to feel like pudding.
Zaphaniea tapped his arm. "I need to be right next to it."
He nodded, jumped over the lip leading into the crater, slid down the side, and made his way to the giant gray slab laying crookedly near the center of the oddly-shaped hollow.
As he trotted up to the teleportation stone, his body shuddered, and the memory of Vackzilian standing right where he now stood stopped him in his tracks. It might be his imagination, but he swore he could feel the usurper's immense evil power still lingering in the area.
Olivia, who had followed him down into the basin via Travers Wake, stepped up beside him and wearily laid her head on his shoulder.
For a brief moment, as her eyes met his, Alf's worries faded into the background, and the anxieties of the day drained away. He smiled tenderly at her; they had been through a lot within the last few hours. In spite of it all, though, they were both still alive, and even though neither of them said anything, he could feel the barriers between them crumbling away.
Zaphaniea elbowed him, drawing him back to the present, and Alf gently laid the champion down on the teleportation stone.
"About... time," she teased looking at both of them with a sly look in her eyes.
Alf's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, but the slight slur in the champion's voice drew most of his attention. He couldn't help but frown in concern as she raised her trembling hands and started charging a spell.
Olivia leaned close to him and whispered, "She'll be okay. They gave her a pretty potent herbal cocktail before we left."
"Good," Alf answered as Olivia pulled away and asked, "Can you explain what you're doing?"
Zaphaniea nodded as she struggled to concentrate, and Olivia's eyes lit up with keen interest as the champion started her explanation.
Alf chuckled. Olivia's curiosity knew no bounds. There was no magic spell, no item, and no technology safe from her inquisitive mind. She was once caught as a child by Harold trying to break into the family's vault so she could examine and dissect the magical artifacts sealed inside.
"My magic... works almost like a mirror," Zaphaniea began. "With it, I can make the frequencies coming through this stone... go anywhere I want." She pulled in a shuddering breath and her voice gained strength as her face regained color. The potions must be kicking in, Alf thought. "I'm redirecting this one," she said twirling her fingers in an odd dance, "to the crater the meteor just created so anyone coming through will appear there. Since the anchor to the absolute coordinates will be changed, the same goes for any scrying or messaging."
Alf frowned. "But if that meteor had hit here, wouldn't the teleportation stone have been destroyed?"
"Nah, these things are nigh indestructible."
Drake, who had quietly followed along, knelt down and touched the dull gray stone. "I have never heard of one being destroyed, but I had assumed that was because no one has ever tried. In fact, I had discussed with Alf and the others about having the ones throughout this Empire destroyed."
"Yeah, that wouldn't have worked," Zaphaniea said swishing her hand. Then her face twisted in concentration as she maneuvered some invisible object into place. The magic within the stone briefly flared to life and dimmed again. "All done," the champion proclaimed and rolled onto her back and laid out flat on the stone "We're all good now."
Alf wasn't entirely convinced. He glanced towards the sky then back at the stone. "How do we know Vackzilian didn't scry this place before you were done?"
Drake stood up and brushed the dirt off his hands. "He couldn't have. A spell like his meteor causes a tremendous amount of magical distortion. Such distortion renders scrying and other related spells inoperable. In all actuality, that is likely why his hologram dispersed like it did earlier. Otherwise, he probably would have stayed and watched to the very end."
"Okay, but how do we know what Zaphaniea did works?"
"You don't," the champion teased. She smiled blithely up at him and said, "But I do."
Rex sauntered up to the stone. "We good?"
"Yes, Zaphaniea just finished," Olivia answered him. "How do your legs feel?"
"Like two earth users rolled them over with a steam press as they repaved the city."
"Ha, I bet," Alf laughed, his worries forgotten. "I'll tell you what, if you carry Zaphaniea, I'll walk us back," he said as he tapped the Stone of Kay on his sword hilt.
"Deal."
As Rex picked up Zaphaniea, Alf's eyes fell on the decapitated blood oath. A mixture of terror, joy, and revulsion pressed its way into his throat. He had killed the dark mage in one clean slice, and... he swallowed, his blood wasn't the first he had spilt today. The faces of the inmates of Victiles loomed in his mind as his fireball careened down towards them. Guilt threatened to overwhelm him, but he pushed it away; his actions had saved the lives of thousands, if not tens of thousands. As he stared at the dead, deformed creature that was once Dy'Ixion, he embraced the swirl of emotions flooding over him, and like a hammer smashing against an anvil, he realized with shocking clarity... they had won.
No one else was going to die.
With a heavy sigh of relief, he said, "It's still hard to believe we actually fought and beat a blood oath."
Rex's eyes followed his. "Yeah. That guy was insane." He shifted Zaphaniea's weight and grunted. "You know grand champion, I think it's time you lay off those sticky buns."
"Oomph!" Rex gasped as Zaphaniea elbowed him hard in the chest.
"Make a comment about my weight again, and you're going to be the one coughing up your sticky buns."
"Man, I thought you were at death's door. Where did you get all this energy?"
"Ha, it'll take a lot more than just your mockery to do me in."
"It's because Katarina caused Zaphaniea's body to produce extra adrenaline," Olivia said, "and Gerhard gave her a large dose of pain suppression herbs. They had planned on directing it to the parts of her system that needed it, but now, without their guidance, it's reached her cerebral cortex. The effect will eventually wear off and she'll fall sleep."
Alf started his way up the side of the crater. "Well then, we should get her back to a bed."
***
As they made their way back towards the arena, Alf drudged along, kicking up ash. Olivia could tell he was tired. And well he should be, she thought. His clothing clung to him, caked in dirt and sweat; dozens of pale pink lashes peppered his arms and face, showing where he had been healed of multiple cuts and lacerations, and his left hand sported angry red burn marks. If he had still been her frail Alfonso, the sight of his wounds would've ripped her heart out. But he was no longer her Alfonso; he was Alf, the warrior that had helped save the entire city. A small pain in her chest twanged, and her eyes turned away, settling on the ash drifting in the wind.
The swirling particles floated off into the darkness of night. Clouds from the meteor's explosion filled the heavens, blotting out the moon and the stars. Darkness should've covered them like a thick blanket, but the small, bedraggled party was bathed in a soft cloud of light. In confusion, Olivia glanced around; there was no source to the mysterious glow.
Focusing her eyes into Ra'avah, she looked once again. Small strand of ambient frequencies agitated the argon in the air, causing it to give off the gentle glow. She followed the frequencies back to their origin. It was Drake. To her surprise, the small boy had crafted an elaborate light spell.
For the first time since Alf had punched him, she let herself look at the young prince. She wasn't sure how she felt about the forty-year-old child. He was an enigma. On the surface, he seemed like someone who was always trying to do his best for his people, but underneath his calm demeanor, there was a dark part of him that scared her. If he decided to pursue her in earnest, she wasn't certain how she should react. During her days at the Brockovich hospital, she had caught the eye of many a nobleman on a daily basis. A smile fluttered across her face as she remembered how she had dealt with Hueferd, High Lord Ducard Leinad's son. She heard he still had nightmares about her. But would Drake be as easily dealt with?
The would-be Emperor sensed her stare and turned to face her. She quickly looked away and focused on the two objects Zaphaniea had left behind hovering over top of the teleportation stone; they were far more interesting, anyway. "Zaphaniea, do you mind telling us exactly how your spell works? Those pink spheres you create are fascinating. I would love to know how they function."
"You can see my balls?" Zaphaniea squeaked.
"Ha," Rex exclaimed. "I knew you were controlling invisible objects. So much for your so-called telekinesis."
Zaphaniea elbowed him roughly in the gut. "Be quiet you."
Rex hunched over and mumbled under his breath."I should just drop you and let the crows pick over your bones."
"Don't," Olivia said. "If she falls, she could be seriously injured. And to answer your question, yes, with holy Ra'avah, I can."
"Well, you're the first. No one else has ever seen them."
"Hmm, most interesting," Olivia rubbed her chin, unconsciously mimicking Harold's speculative expression. I guess holy magic doesn't just improve my ability to see the flow of magic, but also lets me see a whole new array of spectrums, as well. Wait a moment! She narrowed her eyes at the grand champion. She didn't answer my question. "So will you tell me about your spells?"
Zaphaniea squirmed in Rex's arms, uncomfortable under Olivia's fierce scrutiny.
"From what I could tell," Drake said, "the spheres seem to be intercepting the frequencies that are sending information to and from the teleportation stone and reflecting them. Much like a set of mirrors."
"You can see them as well?" Zaphaniea gasped in dismay.
"I can see far more than most perceive." He glanced meaningfully at Olivia.
Alf laughed in amusement. "You might as well give her the details. Believe me, she'll heckle you till you do."
"If you guys can see the floating balls, there's not much more to tell. Honestly, I haven't a clue on how the science works. I'm not into that type of stuff."
"Okay, I understand that, but can you at least tell me a little bit?" Olivia pleaded. She loved technology, the allure of lost magic, the endless possibilities, and most of all, the thrill of discovery.
The grand champion crossed her arms and sank deeper into Rex's arms. "Fine, can't keep a secret around you two, can I." She blew her hair out her face and said, "My magic creates floating spheres that are supposed to be invisible. Once they are created, I control them using bodily motions. With a thought, I can turn them as soft and moldable as pudding or as hard and solid as metal."
Drake opened his mouth.
"And to spare you all the questions," she smirked at him, "I'll tell you exactly how I redirect spells. For spells consisting of solid matter, or compact frequencies, I soften two balls then catch the spell in between them and throw it in the direction I want, sort of like playing volleyball."
"Volleyball?" Alf asked. His slow, steady walk had finally brought them to the steep sloping wall of the crater. With hesitant steps, he climbed up the concave embankment.
"Don't ask," Rex said as he shifted to one leg and flexed the other. "She showed me a scrying before. It's a boring game where non-magic users bounce a stupid ball back and forth over a net."
"It is not boring!" Zaphaniea glared at his masked face. "It's physically stimulating."
Rex shrugged, jostling her.
A war was brewing between the two, and if that happened, Olivia would never get her answers. Before Zaphaniea knocked his mask clean off, she said. "How does it work for the teleportation stone? From the looks of it, all you did was hover a few balls over it."
Zaphaniea settled for another harsh jab with her elbow to Rex's gut then turned her attention back to Olivia as the poor vice champion recoiled in pain. "That's exactly what I did. For beam type spells, like holy beams or the spell the teleportation stones use, it's as simple as turning one ball solid and putting it in the right location, then letting the spell bounce off it in the direction I want. Of course, if I tried to use this method on normal spells they would explode when they hit the solid ball."
"Interesting," Drake said. His face lit with curiosity, and a boyish gleam appeared in his eyes. "However, neither of the methods you mentioned would work on lightning. How did you accomplish such a feat in the arena?"
"If you would hold your horses, I would tell you," she scolded with an impish grin.
The prince stiffened and fell into a petulant silence.
That was the third or fourth time Zaphaniea had been openly cheeky towards Drake, Olivia noted. It was like she reveled in undermining his authority; or maybe it was his overreaction she liked seeing. If that was true, Olivia admitted there was some allure to it. Up until this point, the prince's facial expressions had been monotone at best. Even most adults who didn't know who he was, treated him with respect. He just had that type of no nonsense aurora about him, but Zaphaniea had managed to crack the stoic facade twice already. It would be interesting to see how their relationship progressed in the future, Olivia thought with a sparkle in her eye. Maybe she had nothing to worry about after all.
At last, they came to the crest of the crater. Before them, the melted lip of the basin formed a shier precipice rising dozens of feet into the air. Alf quickened his step and jumped, but instead of soaring over the cliff face, he collided hard with the porous wall, and slid back down in a cloud of ash.
Olivia winced and rushed to his side. "Are you okay?"
Alf clambered shakily back to his feet. "Yeah. It seems Rex's legs aren't the only ones ready to give out."
"Here, let me," she leaned forward, and with small deft movements, cut grooves into the ledge with a holy beam.
He smiled gratefully, "Thank you."
Olivia felt her cheeks flush. Turning quickly to hide her embarrassment, she motioned for Zaphaniea to continue. The grand champion nodded and the group steadily rose in the air as Alf used the new footholds to climb.
"For lightning, I use two spheres," Zaphaniea mimicked the motion of forming a sphere with her hands. "I charge both of them with a little bit of my own lightning magic, which causes them to work like a lightning rod. All I have to do is place the first sphere where the lightning was intended to strike, and the second sphere by the new target."
"Ah, I see," Drake said, "the first one intercepts, and the second one attracts it as the leading electrical charge. And according to the natural flow of electricity, from there it will discharge into the most conductive target."
"Yup, as for bigger spells, like the meteor, I use two balls and spin them in the direction I want the spell to go." She twirled her fingers in example. "Once the spell collides," she clapped her hands together, "the spell's inertia causes it to roll off the spinning spheres, and sends it in the new direction. Sort of like what happens when an arrow or an ice spike hits a rounded shield at the wrong angle and bounces off."
Olivia pictured the scenario in her mind. Now it made sense when she saw the two giant pink spheres mashed up against the meteor. It was obvious why the meteor had stopped and was being pushed farther away from the city, however, not so much so when it flew off into the forest, seemingly of its own accord. "That's fascinating. I was wondering how you turned the meteor."
Drake flipped up his eye patch and rubbed at his dragon eye. "May I ask how you discovered such a technique?"
Zaphaniea stiffened and hesitantly answered, "I ah... just kind of did."
Okay, that was an obvious lie, Olivia thought as she watched Alf pull himself over the last of the crest.
As the party floated over the curved cliff, her breath caught at the sight of the devastation laid out before them. For the first time, she realized the havoc their battle had wrought. All around them, buildings laid in shattered pieces, scorch marks scarring their broken husks; wood, trash, and rubble littered the walkways and roads, and what little remained of the greenery had been violently uprooted and left to die in the apocalyptic scenery. Off to their left, water trickled out of a destroyed aqueduct like a fountain. Produce, mixed with random trash, flowed down the resulting stream and emptied into an icky black pond.
It was truly a scene of devastation.
"What a mess," she gasped as the smell of sulfur and fire filled her nostrils.
Alf stood up and dusted off his hands. "Looking at it now, I can definitely say it's a miracle we all survived."
"You can say that again. This will take months to clean up," Rex said. As if to punctuate his words, a tall mangled structure, composed of steel and glass, tumbled toward the ground with a piercing wail. As the building crashed in the distance, the sound of shattering glass and broken beams ricocheted in the barren streets.
"Indeed, but we do not have time to contemplate it. We should return to Mr. Havanger posthaste. It is imperative we discuss our next move with him." Drake's words sounded more stilted than normal. An edge of pain laced his voice, and he looked off anxiously towards the arena.
Olivia nibbled her bottom lip in concern. The enthusiasm the boy had shown minutes ago had drained away, leaving him pale and exhausted. Dark bags hung under his eyes; his slender shoulders sagged, and he cradled his left arm gingerly.
Zaphaniea wasn't the only one that needed rest.
She tapped Alf's shoulder and tilted her head towards the others. His weary eyes lightened in understanding, and with a small nod, he dove into the mess.
As Alf carefully navigated through a mangled heap of metal that appeared as if it had once been some type of crane system, Olivia said, "Do you think the rest of the city looks like this?"
Alf shrugged, "I don't know, Rex was moving too fast on the way here for me to get a good look, but I hope not."
"There are a few downed trees and ruined buildings on the way here from what I saw," Rex answered, "but nothing like this. Remember, this area was ground zero for our fight with Dy'Ixion, and before that, it had been more or less abandoned for fifteen years."
"I hope you're right," Zaphaniea said. "Go that way," she continued, waving her hand and almost knocking Rex's mask off.
"Why?" Alf asked.
"Because I wanna see if my stuff is okay, and it'd be easier than going through that mess."
Olivia looked at the way Rex had brought them; the glass building they had heard topple over a few minutes ago now sat in a shattered heap across the road.
"You're right," Alf admitted and took the detour.
"My villa had better not be destroyed or, so help me, I'm going to put a hole straight through that crazed egomaniac," the grand champion growled as she repositioned herself in Rex's arms.
Olivia picked up a small discarded doll clothed in a tattered pink dress. Families, homes, and lives had been destroyed all on the whim of one man. Alfonso's murder was just one in a long list of Vackzilian's crimes; a list that was only going to grow longer. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. The last twenty four hours had taken its toll mentally and physically on her. Her joints ached. Her mind felt like a jigsaw puzzle strewn randomly across a table, scrambled and unfocused. She looked forward to curling up in bed and pretending all was right with the world, that there was no Vackzilian threatening the peace and snuffing out lives like they were cheap kindling. She shook her head. She probably wouldn't sleep peacefully again until he was vanquished. Whenever that may be.
Vaulting over an uprooted tree crafted into a sign that read 'Second hand tools -- Better than new', Alf emerged from the tangled mayhem onto one of the main thoroughfares of the city. Now that they were out of the abandoned commercial district, they could easily see the city proper.
Everyone breathed in relief; Rex's estimation had proven to be right. There were a few buildings missing their roofs, and several had been destroyed by falling debris, but the destruction was a great deal less than in the abandoned part of town.
The group followed Alf silently for some time until their path crossed with the glass, aquarium-like mansion they'd stopped to admire earlier that day. A massive seashell-shaped house sat perched in the middle of the once stunning structure. Beside it, a trail of destruction showed where the wind had picked up the crustaceous home and smashed it straight through the surrounding buildings before it finally came to roost in the fragile glass manor.
"My house!" Zaphaniea cried.
"That masterpiece was yours?" Olivia asked in astonishment.
"It was," Zaphaniea moaned as she stared at the shattered building. Exotic fish, ranging from florescent yellow to deep indigo blue, lay scattered about the well manicured lawn. "My poor fish," she sighed.
"Perk up, at least you can have fried fish for dinner tonight."
Zaphaniea cracked into a furious grin, "Sure, let's have Dory for dinner tonight and then you for dessert."
Rex hung his head low as he looked down at Zaphaniea. "Sorry, that was heartless of me."
"You bet your boots it was. If I had the strength, I would bury you in the glass right next to that hideous house!" She pointed at the monstrosity sitting proudly in the middle of her abode.
Olivia stood on her tiptoes and whispered into Alf's ear, "I think we should go. Zaphaniea appears to be the type that handles loss with violence."
"It would seem that way," Alf grimaced, and throwing one last glance at the distraught grand champion, quick marched down the street.
Zaphaniea perched her chin on Rex's shoulder, looking back forlornly at her ruined home.
"How did you learn to create and manipulate spheres?" Drake interrupted. "Was the spell in an orb or in an ancient artifact?"
"No, nothing special like that." Zaphaniea turned around and sank lifelessly into Rex's arms. "My father taught it to me, like you would teach any other spell."
Alf glanced back in surprise, nearly tripping over an overturned bench. "So anyone can learn it?"
"No way. It's been modified; only those with dragon blood can use it."
Alf stopped in his tracks and spun around excitedly. "Both Drake and I have dragon blood. Can you teach it to us?"
The grand champion stared at him in shock as if he'd just asked her to marry him. "No!"
"Why not?"
Zaphaniea threw her arms into the air, narrowly avoiding Rex's face. "Because it's my family's spell. You know, family heirloom, inheritance type of thing."
"Oh," Alf said, his face falling in disappointment. "I guess asking you to divulge your family's secrets was rude of me. I apologize." With a dejected cast to his shoulders, Alf faced forward and trudged on, cutting across a once luscious park.
As the party moved on, Olivia fell back and whispered, "I understand your response, and I get why you don't want to give away your secrets, but you know Alf shared his family spell to save your life."
Zaphaniea met her eyes and blinked tiredly. "He did?"
"He did. He's doing his best to keep everyone safe, but he just doesn't have enough combat experience. If Alf knew your spell, it might increase our chances of actually winning this fight."
Zaphaniea humphed and crossed her arms. "Maybe, but it's been a family secret for generations." Her voice took on a peevish tone. "I want to keep it that way."
Drake latched onto Olivia's train of thought and quickly added, "If you were to reconsider the foe we face, I believe you would find it quite advantageous to have more than one of us with your capabilities."
The grand champion raised an eyebrow at the prince. "Oh, it would, would it? You just want my spell for yourself, Mr. 'I-know-every-spell-in-the-world'."
"I will not deny that, and I do not claim to know every spell in the world; nonetheless, I must point out that Alf's physique is far more suited to stopping another meteor in the unlikely event we have to. As for pertaining to myself, such combat capabilities would enable me to protect all of you from the shadows. I fully believe secrets are a necessity of life; however, what's the use of them if we are all dead? Consider what happened to your house and this city. Any advantage at this point is a necessity, not a luxury."
Zaphaniea sat up. "A necessity?" She smiled, her left eyebrow rising. "I bet you think you can talk the hind leg off a mule."
"Wait Zaph," Rex butted in. "He actually has a point. This isn't like we're fighting to see who will win the next match. This is life and death."
"Not you too!" the grand champion stated glaring up at the vice champion's masked face.
Rex shifted, and using his left hand to remove his mask, he gazed down at her. "As much as I hate to admit it, we're outclassed," he said looking into her eyes. "There is no way we can beat Vackzilian, and unless we use everything at our disposal, he's going to squash us like bugs. I know your spell is what lets you cream me and everyone else, but if any of us actually want to live through this insanity, you have to share it."
Zaphaniea leaned back into his arms and sighed. "I guess you're right," she said with pout. "I thought I could see us through this with my visions, but this night has proven I can't control others people's reactions to my decisions." She swallowed hard. "My spell has been a family heirloom for generations, but with the way things are right now, if Vackzilian finds out where my family escaped to..."
She lapsed into silence. When she opened her eyes again she stared off in the direction of her decimated villa. "I'll teach Alf my spell."
Alf spun around. "You will?"
"I will." She motioned towards a white gazebo they were passing by. "Please sit."
Alf collapsed on a wooden bench inside the round structure. Olivia leaned on the railing behind him while Rex brought Zaphaniea over and gently set her down. She swayed as she stood up, and Drake moved to her side, lending his shoulder for her to lean on. She smiled at the boy then held out her hand. A small scrying appeared in front of it, displaying the complex network of a spell.
Alf gazed into the scrying at the mathematically advanced and complex neurological instructions as the scrolling equations cast a golden hue on his features.
"Hearken a lamed kem," Zaphaniea's voice echoed in the small space. As the last syllable left her lips, the scrying flared then vanished, imprinting itself on Alf's mind.
Alf tilted his head and his eyes looked up towards the sky as he mentally examined his new spell. "Sweet!" he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet, eager to try it out. "And thank you!"
"Will you teach me your spell as well?" Drake asked.
"No."
Drake's right eyebrow rose. "May I ask why?"
"I see no reason to give an already spoiled prince new toys," the grand champion stated, a small grin playing at the corner of her mouth.
The prince's mouth fell open and he stepped backwards. "Are you mocking me yet again?"
Zaphaniea burst into laughter. "You...," Clutching her stomach, she leaned forward, almost toppling to the floor in her mirth. "You should see your face!"
Drake's body stiffened; his mouth slammed shut into a thin line, and his words clipped with anger. "Must I remind you that I am the crown prince of all of Alfireá?"
"Oh shut up and come here," the grand champion said as she held out her hand, forming the scrying once again.
The would-be emperor stood rooted to the ground in dumb shock.
"Well, do you want to know my spell or not?" Zaphaniea's emerald eyes twinkled with mirth, her heart-shaped face alight with mischief. In that moment, the moon chose to break through the clouds. It tumbled down her shoulders and through her hair, outlining her form in a mystical silver glow.
Olivia watched in utter fascination. She fully expected the prince to be irate, and for an instant, he was; his teeth clamped shut, his muscles tensed, and his eyebrows furled. Then, to her astonishment, the anger and indignation in his posture vanished, only to be replaced with a small smile as the prince bowed deeply and said, "Well played. I will gratefully learn your spell Zaphaniea, Grand Master of the arena."
Zaphaniea held out the scrying for him to look at as she said, "Lamad." With a ripple, the floating image flared and disappeared.
Drake closed his eyes and breathed deeply then raised his hand. A flux of magic pulsed through the air, and Olivia quickly focused her eyes into Ra'avah.
There, hovering in front of Drake, floated a small, perfect, pink sphere.
The crown prince experimentally moved his hand, and the sphere followed his motion perfectly. He turned back to Zaphaniea. "Thank you, I will use this well."
"How come he's able to cast it and I haven't been able to?" Alf asked.
Zaphaniea shrugged, sat down, and yawned. "I don't know. Ask Olivia, she can see the flow of magic better than I can."
Alf turned to her, and Olivia felt slightly ashamed. She hadn't even noticed him attempting to cast it. "Try again. I'll see if I can figure out what's wrong," she offered.
"Alright," Alf answered and brought up his hand. A cascade of energy sprung to life, warping space around his arm as he poured an exorbitant amount of power into the spell. For a moment, the frequencies weaved properly; then suddenly, they bent out of shape, and flew off in all directions.
In alarm, she almost shouted for Alf to stop when the awry frequencies dissipated on their own. A safety mechanism in the spell must have cut in, Olivia thought in relief as she said, "You're pushing way too much power into it at once. Try again. This time, try to constrict how much energy you let flow into the spell."
Alf nodded and tried again, but he still used too much of his strength, and his second attempt failed as well.
Olivia tapped her lips. "No, that's not going to work. Try only charging for a second then instantly cast it."
"Okay." This time, Alf activated the spell then instantly cast it as Olivia suggested. A fairly large pink ball, the size of Alf's waist, sprung into existence.
Zaphaniea yawned again and sprawled out on the rounded bench. "Ah, you did it. Now try moving it. Just be careful you don't hit anyone."
Alf smiled excitedly and cautiously motioned with his hand like Drake had, but his sphere didn't move. He tried again but nothing happened.
"Try with a more dramatic movement. When I first started, I had to really exaggerate my actions to get them to do what I wanted."
Alf did as she instructed, making larger and larger movements until he was flailing his arms like a madman. Finally, the pink sphere slowly moved in the direction Alf was flinging his arms.
Olivia covered her face with her hand, trying to hide a smile. He looked ridiculous.
Rex's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "Alf, what in the dragon's mouth are you doing?"
"Trying to make this stupid thing move," Alf proclaimed as he vehemently swung at the uncooperative magic ball.
"Well, you look like a drowning man trying to shoo away a sea lion."
"Ha, that's exactly what he looks like," Zaphaniea laughingly mocked.
Olivia stifled her own laugh as she vividly pictured the sphere as an inquisitive seal.
Alf frowned at her, and she could hold it in no longer. "I'm sorry," she laughed. "But you look ridiculous."
Alf humphed, jumped up, and sitting down on the floating ball, crossed his arms, and stared at them with a scowl on his face.
Zaphaniea burst into laughter, and with a large cackle, she fell tumbling off the bench to the wooden floor below. Even Drake had a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. As if to punctuate the moment, he casually moved his index finger. His small sphere instantly reacted. Like a puppy eager to do its master's bidding, it zipped about as if it were on an invisible leash.
Alf glared at it. "How come he can move his and I can't?"
"Wait, you can see his?" Olivia asked. "I thought they were only visible to the creator."
"Naw," Zaphaniea said as she stood to her feet and spawned more spheres of her own. "Once you make your first ball, all others become visible to you as well." She waved her hand and the spheres spread out. She then lowered them to waist height and flopped down on them as if they were a floating bed.
Rex plopped down on the bench. "I wish I could see them. It's annoying standing here watching you guys play with invisible objects."
"Oh, cry me a river," Zaphaniea said, snuggling into her makeshift couch.
Upon observing Zaphaniea's usage of multiple spheres, Drake fashioned another of his own. He spun his two spheres around each other for a moment. "Fascinating. The possibilities of this are nigh limitless."
Alf hopped off his ball and cast another. He swung his arms at the new one, trying to get it to move closer to the other, but it wouldn't budge; so he turned his attention to the first one, but it refused to move as well.
Rex propped his feet up on one of the gazebo's support pillars. "Why are you doing the doggy paddle?"
"I'm not! I'm trying... oh never mind. Zaphaniea what am I doing wrong?"
The grand champion rubbed her eyes and stretched. "You're not good enough yet to use more than one ball. You have to dismiss one by mentally telling it to dissipate, or you can release it, which will let the ball float around until you dismiss it or take control over it again."
"Ah, I see. What happens if I leave this ball here?"
Olivia gingerly sat down on the opposite end of the wooden bench Rex sat on. Her eyes grew heavy, and she stifled her own yawn.
"It'll stay there permanently until its magic slowly fades away," Zaphaniea answered.
Drake bounced one of his spheres into the other and it rebounded while the first remained stationary. "Interesting, how long will it take for it to fade away?"
Zaphaniea shrugged. "That depends on how much compressed energy is in it. The ones I just set up back there at the teleportation stone should easily last over a year and a half."
Alf patted one of the glowing balls. "Sounds like I could end up leaving these things all over the place."
Olivia's eyes drifted shut and she vaguely heard Zaphaniea laugh. "I have actually left quite a few of these lying around myself."
"Hey, give that back."
Olivia peeled her eyes back open to see Drake twirling his hands and one of Alf's large spheres moving to his motions.
"Looks like I can claim unmanned spheres."
"Ya, as long as they are not..." Zahpaniea yawned, "locked. Locked ones," she yawned again. "can only be moved by the one who locked them."
Olivia stood up. "Okay guys, Zahapaniea is at her limit and we need to get back. Rex."
Rex sprung to his feet. "Finally," he said as he replaced his mask, walked over, and picked up the almost unconscious champion.
Alf sighed in disappointment and trudged towards the arena. His face lit in surprise as the sphere followed him. "Hey, now that's cool."
"Ya, they follow you. If you want them to."
"Well at least I can get them to move this way."
Olivia prodded him softly in the side.
"Okay, okay we'll go."
The group followed Alf as he left the park. The dark shadows created by the meteor finally started dissipating, and the moon shone dimly through the clouds as it faded over the horizon. Olivia climbed onto Alf's sphere and leaned back on her arms. She gazed off towards the eastern horizon where she knew the sun would soon appear. Tomorrow always comes. A smile crept over her face as she remembered a quote by Jesus. 'Worry not about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Sufficient today is the evil thereof.' Truer words were never spoken, she thought.
As they neared the coliseum, Alf asked, "So how come Drake can control them so well but I can't?"
Zaphaniea didn't answer.
Olivia glanced back. The grand champion lay fast asleep in Rex's arms.
"It would seem that the effects of the adrenalin have finally worn off," Drake noted.
Rex took a deep breath. "I haven't said anything because she was awake, but to be honest, her body doesn't feel right. Her bones are soft and her skin is off somehow." He glanced down at her, concern apparent in his voice. "Will she be alright when she wakes up?"
Olivia's stomach coiled inside her. She wanted to say Zaphaniea would be fine, but she couldn't be certain. In all of her years as a healer, she had never seen anyone go through such extensive reconstruction. Almost every molecule of the champion had been healed or re-grown at some point that night. Who was to say for sure one of the healers hadn't made a mista-
"While I am not a master at healing, I can say with utmost certainty she will be fine with some rest," Drake said. "Her anatomy will reinforce itself with time. As for your question Alf, from what I can tell, this spell is more about fine magic control than brute force of will. I am able to manipulate the spheres because I have perfect control over my magical energy. You, on the other hand, have the worst control I have ever seen."
Alf's shoulders' slumped. "Oh."