"I'm enthralled by your heart..."
AVERY
Looking at Lianna, I can see that she's serious. She treats me as a rival. Nakikita ko ang poot sa kanyang mga mata. Nararamdaman ko rin ang kagustuhan niyang patayin ako. I can feel her obsession. Hindi ko lang matukoy kung talagang minamanipula ba ni Seth ang isip at nararamdaman niya. O obsess lang ba talaga siya kay Zirrius?
What if she's really controlled? Will I have the guts to release her from Seth's control? Will I release her even though I know that Zirrius and Lianna both shared a past that I can't undo? May lakas ba ako ng loob na bigyan siya ng kahit kaunting simpatiya? I admit that I'm jealous and I also consider her as a rival but am I being reasonable?
Maaaring bumalik ang nararamdaman ni Zirrius kay Lianna kung mapapatunayan nga na kinokontrol lang siya ni Seth, hindi ba? Natatakot ako. Natatakot ako sa maaaring mangyari. I know I'm selfish. Iniisip ko rin na mas makabubuting mawala na lang si Lianna sa landas ko para hindi na ako mangamba. But I realized that being selfish is not the correct answer. It will never be right. And I should trust Zirrius on this matter. I must trust my mate. I must believe in our bond.
It's possible that Lianna is not acting on her own. If I guess it right, Seth is channeling his aura to Lianna and Lord Kelvin. He's controlling both of them like a puppet. And the magic coming from Lianna possibly came from Seth. Sa tingin ko, hindi pinag-aralan nina Lianna at Lord Kelvin ang paggamit ng kahit anong mahika.
Ikinumpas ni Lianna ang kanyang isang kamay sa hangin kasabay ng pagsambit ng isang spell. Natigilan ako nang biglang kumulog nang malakas. Isang matalim na kidlat ang gumuhit sa langit at patungo ito sa kinatatayuan ko. So Seth is so powerful that he can control lightning?
Mabilis akong kumilos at tumakbo palayo. I chanted a spell to create a huge insulator to stop the lightning from reaching me. Maging si Zirrius ay nagulat sa mga pangyayari at agad siyang gumawa ng shield para protektahan ako.
"Zirrius, I must free Lianna from Seth's control," nagmamadaling sabi ko habang tumatakbo palayo. Umikot ako sa kinaroroonan ni Lianna. "Her body won't be able to handle this kind of magic. She'll just destroy her own body. Katulad ng nangyari kay King Aulius. Cover up for me."
"Are you sure about this?" naguguluhang sabi ni Zirrius. Parang gusto niya akong pigilan sa gagawin ko.
Sa totoo lang hindi ako sigurado pero ito ang pinakatamang desisyong naiisip ko ngayon. Sobrang laki ng problema ko. I have to protect myself from the medallion. I have to fight against Lianna. I also need to be mindful of Leo. If he's really Seth, I can't take my eyes off him. What if he attacks me from behind?
"Damon can you hear me?" tanong ko sa isip ko. "Link Zirrius to our minds as well. Let's discuss something here."
"Got it," sagot ni Damon.
"Zirrius can you hear me?" tanong ko agad.
"Yes," sagot ni Zirrius.
"I need someone to protect me from Lianna, Leo and the medallion," sabi ko. "I'll do the ritual to remove Seth's control on Lianna and Lord Kelvin. Lure them inside the magic circle I will make. I don't have much energy to do the ritual separately. I still need to reverse the effect of the magic circle Seth made."
"Are you really sure you want to save them?" takang tanong ni Damon.
"Uhhhmmm. Yes?" sagot ko.
"But you already lost a lot of blood before," Zirrius interjected.
"Wala akong magagawa. Kailangang mabawasan ang kalaban natin," sabi ko.
"Hmmm. I think I have a plan. Someone can do the ritual to release Lianna and Lord Kelvin. We have Zach. I'll talk to him," sabi ni Damon. "Hindi ka na maaaring magsayang ng lakas, Avery. The magic circle created by Seth can really drain your energy. It's not easy to reverse it. You might also need your blood to conduct the ritual," paalala niya.
"I agree with Damon," sabi ni Zirrius. "Just distract Lianna for now. Try your best to avoid her attacks. Sa tingin ko, pipigilan ka rin ni Seth na palayain sina Lord Kelvin at Lianna kaya mas mabuti kung si Zach na ang gumawa. Zach can do it secretly. Maybe we can just pretend that we're doing the ritual to release them?"
"Yes, let's do that," pagsang-ayon ni Damon. "I'll communicate with Zach. He can do the magic circle somewhere without Leo noticing him."
"Sige. Kayo na ang bahalang makipag-usap kay Zach," sabi ko. I turned towards Leo's direction. Napansin ko na may mga kawal na pumalibot kay Leo na hinarap na niya. Inilabas niya ang kanyang matalim na espada. It seems that Lord Kelvin is also attacking Leo. Hindi ko na alam kung tama ba na paghinalaan ko siya.
"Don't be distracted," paalala ni Zirrius sa 'kin. "Lianna's still after you."
I immediately get back to my thought. I focused on Lianna and Zirrius is focusing on the medallion. Ipinagpatuloy ko ang pag-iwas sa mga kidlat na kinokontrol niya. I'm also pretending to create a magic circle to release Lianna from Seth's control.
"I'll watch Leo for you," sabi ni Damon. "Don't worry too much. Si Lianna muna ang pagtuunan mo ng pansin. Huwag mo ng isipin pa ang ibang bagay. Hangga't hindi pa bumabalik si Shin, huwag kang mag-aksaya ng lakas."
"Sige. Ako na ang bahala kay Lianna," saad ko. Tinalasan ko ang mata at tainga. Mas lalong bumilis ang pagkilos ko dahil mas madami ng kidlat ang pinapakawalan ni Lianna. I used the water from the rain to create water spears and attack Lianna. Pero wala siyang pakialam sa bawat pag-atake ko. Wala siyang pakialam kung masaktan man siya. Wala siyang pakialam sa dugong naglalandas sa mga braso at binti niya. Ang gusto lang niyang mangyari ay ang masaktan ako at mamatay ako. Iisa lang ang misyon niya at 'yon ay ang patayin ako.
It's hard to hurt someone who's unaware of her surroundings. Nagtatalo ang isip ko kung uunahan ko ba siya sa pagpatay o hindi. I just don't think it's fair because she's being used.
Napansin ko sa sulok ng mga mata ko na nawala si Zach. Siguro gagawa na siya ng magic circle sa lugar na hindi mapapansin ni Leo. Dumating naman si Kendrick at Ayen para makipaglaban sa mga kawal na tinawag ni Lord Kelvin at tinulungan si Damon. Si Lord Kelvin ay gumagamit ng mahika pero si Ayen ang gumagawa ng paraan upang pigilan siya. Pasimpleng inoobserbahan naman ni Damon si Leo habang nakikipaglaban siya sa ibang kawal. Siguro nga hindi ko na talaga kailangan mangamba pa para sa kaligtasan nila. They can protect their own.
Gamit ang mga halaman, pinigilan ko si Lianna na muling tumawag ng mga kidlat. Pumulupot nang mahigpit sa kanyang baywang ang mga makakapal na baging. Napigilan din ng mga baging ang kanyang kamay na muli sanang kukumpas. Sira na ang ilang bahagi ng kastilyo dahil sa kagagawan ni Lianna. Bitak-bitak na ang sahig at pakiramdam ko guguho na ang kastilyo.
Natigilan ako dahil biglang naging abo ang mga halamang pumulupot kay Lianna na tila nasunog ito. I can't stop her that easily. Nakagat ko nang mariin ang labi ko. Seth's power can't be taken lightly.
"Just die!" mariing sigaw ni Lianna sa 'kin.
Hindi ko pinansin ang sinabi niya. Mabilis akong tumakbo dahil sa unti-unting pagkakabitak-bitak ng sahig na kinatatayuan ko. Malalaking tipak ng bato ang lumipad sa kinaroroonan ko. I created a thick wall using the vines and stopped Lianna's attack.
I jumped above the wall I created and chanted another spell. Kinontrol ko ang mga bato. The debris of stones are now directed to Lianna's direction. I reversed her magic and I aimed at her. May mga bato na hindi niya nailagan. She was hit on her belly by big chuck of stone and she was thrown away. Her back hit the remaining part of the wall of the palace. Only half part of the palace was left.
Natigilan ako nang maramdaman ang malakas na puwersang bumalot sa palasyo. It was not directed to me but to Zirrius and Damon. The power came from Lord Kelvin. The two was blown away and their backs hit the wall as well. Hindi agad sila nakatayo dahil parang naparalisa ang kanilang mga katawan. Dahil sa nangyari, nawala ang nagbabantay sa medalyon at muli akong hinabol nito.
I jumped and avoided the attacks coming from the medallion. Pero muli akong nakaramdam ng malakas na puwersa. I saw water rushing towards my direction. I was unable to react and I was shot up outside the palace. I was ejected in midair, almost in the middle of the whole kingdom of Alveria. I can't move away immediately and the light coming from the medallion still chased after me. It's coming for me. It's coming for my life. I panicked and tried to cast another spell to create a shield but I know it will be too late. The rushing water is holding me back.
The light from the medallion is ready to strike me and my heart is beating wildly inside my chest. Mariin akong napapikit. I hate how my mind suddenly accepts that I will be swallowed by the light and my soul will be sucked by the medallion. I hate how weak I am now.
But suddenly there's a sudden splash of water and I felt that I fell somewhere else, somewhere soft. Nang buksan ko ang mga mata ko, nakasakay na ako sa isang malaking agila at nasa unahan ko si Shin.
"Why did you give up on casting the spell? At least try your best even when you're dying. Kung hindi ako dumating, maaaring patay ka na," seryosong sabi ni Shin.
It's embarrassing to be scolded by a kid. "I'm sorry and thank you for saving me," sagot ko. I can't argue with him because I'm really wrong. I should have tried a little harder. Muli kaming hinabol ng mga kidlat at maging ng liwanag na nagmumula sa medalyon. Basang-basa na kami dahil sa malakas na ulan. Mabuti na lang mabilis kumilos ang alagang agila ni Shin.
Ibinigay ni Shin ang mapa sa 'kin. "Here's the layout of the whole magic circle. Check it out and find a way to reverse it. I brought a piece of cloth. You might need it," sabi ni Shin at ibinigay sa 'kin ang mapa at ang isang puting tela.
"How do you know that I need another piece of cloth? Do you understand how the magic circle works?" tanong ko.
Umiling si Shin. "I can't understand the magic circle. But I believe in your abilities. I just think you'll need to rewrite the magic circle so... I brought that piece of cloth."
"I really admire your intelligence. Thanks," sabi ko. This smart kid surely had a bright future ahead. I can't ruin everything for him. I must save the human and elven kingdoms as soon as possible. "Ilayo mo muna ako sa lugar na ito habang pinag-aaralan ko ang mapa."
Tahimik na tumango si Shin. He instructed the enormous eagle on what to do. I immersed myself on studying the complex map.
***